Garlic In The Garden
October 21, 2009We had our first frost on Monday morning and the soil temperature is right, so it was time to plant garlic. I was actually ready to plant last week, but we had four days of cold rain and the garden was off limits. Sometimes weather dictates garden plans, so the garlic bed was postponed.
Yesterday was warm and sunny, so I spent quite a bit of time outside. Being outside, ambling around and puttering in the garden seemed long overdo after a few days of cold rain and grey skies. Preparing a garden bed and a little yard exercise felt so good. I’ve always believed that sweating is good for the soul. And, for me, getting out in the garden to play dirty-digger helps me keep a healthy perspective on life. With the difficulties our Nation is facing, I need that….
Before I plant garlic cloves, I always double-dig the wide rows about 10-12 inches deep. Then I add a decent amount of compost, work it into the soil, then rake the bed smooth.
With garlic, I get the cloves ready ahead of time. As I write this post, I realize that I never counted the cloves or the dibbled holes. But there was a bunch….about 100.
To plant the garlic cloves, I use a slender hand tool called a dibble to make the holes for each clove. The holes should be about 3 inches deep and about 6 inches apart.
I grow 3-bulbs across in a wider than average row, so I make 3 holes, then plant a clove in each of those holes. Then I make the next 3 holes about 6 inches away. With direct overhead sun during the growing season (and nutrient-rich soil), you can grow garlic like this.
Can you tell I don’t use twine and stakes to mark straight rows? 
The garlic in the garden is Brown Rose, Creole Red, Okrent, and Thai Purple.
You’re going to have a lot of garlic next year, what interesting varieties. We never use stakes or strings either, and are getting pretty good at making straight rows. Although upon occasion we have to look at the garden and smile because it does look a bit off kilter, the plants don’t seem to mind though. It adds character to the rows.
We have our garlic row all ready to go but won’t be planting until November, which will be pretty darn soon.
Good information. I am going to plant garlic soon, if my husband doesn’t beat me to it.
Mike, If our garden were larger, we’d grow even more. I used to grow Elephant Garlic but found it less appealing than regular garlic. Funny that I love growing onions and garlic, but shy away from the Allium flowers. I think it’s because the round flowers atop a stalk seem like garden soldiers to me. I always said that I’d never grow ‘those’ flowers. But I’ve learned to never-say-never because this year I was looking at some of the Blotanical garden blogs and saw how alliums were placed in a backyard garden. They added height where they were used and looked great. So maybe next fall I will get a few of the flowering Alliums and see what I think.
My husband always abides to the stake-n-string style which he picked up from his father. My stance is whoever plants the seed gets to choose the style. Of course, I’m home all day and guess who does most of the garden work? Crooked-row Lynnie! Maybe we should start a group called “Off Kilter Gardeners”?
Bet we’d have a bunch of members…
Hmmm….obsessive compulsive plant collector….hmmm….that sounds to me like you might be a stake-and-string gal!
Garlic is definitely one of the easiest things to plant. Good luck with yours!
I have never grown garlic before, but it seems easy enuogh, so I will probably give it a try…
Vrtlarica,
I’ll look forward to hearing of your success — with your loamy soil, you should grow fantastic bulbs!