Ethan Snyder
Planting Your First Garlic Crop
Purpose and Audience
The purpose of this instructional document is to provide farmers and gardeners alike with a detailed guide to planting a crop of garlic. The guide contains plenty of information in hopes of answering any questions that may come up. This guide is written by a farmer for other farmers, thus all of the questions and instructions are practical and detailed. The pictures provided are from growing garlic on a garden scale, since the time of the pictures all methods have been tested on plantings of over 1,000 cloves.
Tools, Materials
A field hoe
For digging furrows and rough ground shaping at planting
Cultivating Tools
For controlling weeds when the need arises, most likely when the mulch is removed in the spring. Hand-hoes, wheel-hoes, and pull behind cultivators
Are all acceptable
A Spade
For unearthing garlic at harvest time
Mulch
Enough mulch material to cover the planting area with 6-8” of cover.
Weed-free straw is preferred
Total Time-to-Task
In Ohio from planting to harvest is about 10 months
Garlic: Background Information
Humans have cultivated garlic for over 7,000 years. It originates from central Asia and from there migrated throughout the world. It is used as by humans as food, seasoning, and medicine. Today it is a staple in Mediterranean cooking where it is often a prominent flavor.
Garlic is a root crop, the bulb grows underground, and it sends up green shoots and some will eventually send up a curly shoot known as a garlic scape. Garlic is an overwinter crop meaning it is planted in the fall, and harvested the following summer. Here in Ohio it can remain in the ground for 10 months before it is ready to be harvested.
There are two main types of garlic, hardneck and softneck. Softneck garlic is the type you will most commonly find in the grocery store, they are better adapted to a warmer climate, such as California and they do not send up scapes. They also store a very long time, in many cases an entire year. At farmers markets if you see garlic braids, they will all be softneck garlic. Softneck garlic also usually has a much simpler flavor than hardneck garlic.
Hardneck garlic is a much hardier garlic, it is better adapted to cold climates like Ohio, or even as far north as Maine. Hardneck garlic as the name implies has a very hard “neck” or the shoot that grows from the bulb is hard. This type of garlic sends out scapes in the summer that have a delicious flavor. Hardneck garlic does not store as long as softneck garlic, they have about a 9 month shelf life. The biggest upside to hardneck is their complex and subtle flavors that many cooks find very attractive.
Images provided by South African Garlic Growers Association,
they can be found online at
Field Preparation
Garlic is a heavy feeder, so before planting garlic it is recommended to have a solid fertility plan in place. Specifically speaking planting garlic following a green manure crop will give the best results. When you feel the field is at an adequate fertility level prepare the field for planting like you would any other vegetable crop. A level, smooth, well drained field to work with will make the planting, cultivation, and harvesting easiest and most efficient. I have heard of people planting garlic directly into a cover crop that winter kills, however I have never tried this method
Preparing the Garlic
Separate the bulbs into individual cloves
Once you receive your certified seed garlic, (I recommend sourcing certified disease free seed garlic to help reduce your likelihood of disease in your garlic) you must separate and peel the cloves. Although it is called seed garlic it really is just a bulb of garlic. Carefully remove the outer paper skin of the garlic to expose the cloves, separate them out and place them in buckets to be taken to the field.
TIP:
If you are replanting your own garlic from your field I recommend stripping the garlic cloves completely like you would if you were to cook them and inspect them for disease. Look for lesions and dots, these are both signs of garlic disease and these cloves should be discarded.
Planting the Garlic
Mark out your rows
I plant garlic in 8 inch rows, and 6 inches apart inside the rows. Thus your garlic will be planted in a grid pattern with 8 inches between them one-way, and 6 inches the other.
TIP:
Many people plant their garlic much closer because the actual bulb only takes up maybe 2 square inches. However you must consider the microscopic root system that the bulb sends out as well as the life in the soil, it is better to err on too much space than too little, as this will allow each clove to develop to its largest possible size. This wider spacing also makes it easier to cultivate with a tractor or with apprentice farmhands who can be intimidated by tight crop spacing.
Using a hoe, dig your rows 3 inches deep the entire length of the grid you have laid out for your garlic crop and 8 inches apart.
Place each clove right side up 6 inches apart in your row
Each row is neatly spaced 8” apart, and garlic is spaced 6” apart in the rows.
Carefully cover the cloves with dirt and lightly compress soil over top
WARNING:
Be careful not to tip over the clove. If a clove is planted upside down or on its side it will still be edible, however, the top is the top, and it will come out deformed looking and unattractive to customers
Note each clove is “right side-up”
Mulching and Overwintering
Cover the planting area in 6-8” of mulch material
This protects the cloves from heaving up and out of the ground during the winter. It also feeds the soil and reduces your time spent on cultivation. Mulch is one the best ways to grow a great garlic crop. If you are using straw it can sometimes be helpful once it is laid to water it down to keep it from blowing in the wind.
This depicts what the mulched over area of garlic should look like when you are finished mulching
Spring Work
Once spring arrives remove the layer of mulch for some groundwork.
Be careful not to step on any emerging garlic shoots
Stack the mulch close by
The mulch is removed in order to aid the soil warm up faster, and also to
Allow cultivation. Stack it nearby because in two weeks it will be put
Back on
Cultivate between your rows and your garlic plants
This will kill any emerging weed seedlings as well as aerate the soil
If needed side dress the garlic with minerals or compost
This will help enable your garlic to reach its full potential.
After two weeks cultivate one more time
Finish spring work by relaying the mulch over the garlic
Once again be careful not to trample any young garlic shoots
Harvest
If you are growing hardneck garlic when it sends up scapes cut them off at the base and eat or sell them
When 50% of the green material on the garlic plant has turned brown, harvest
It is important to harvest at this point in time because the garlic will have reached its full potential while still remaining intact enough to allow for easy harvest
Using a spade, dig into the ground 5 inches from garlic plant and upheave the soil
Be careful not to slice into the bulbs with your spade because it is an easy way to contaminate your garlic and allow mold, rot, and other disease a way into the bulb.
Brush off most of the dirt from the garlic bulb
Drying the Garlic
Put the harvested garlic somewhere to dry
Garlic needs to be dried in a dry area with plenty of air circulation. If you have the space you can hang them up to dry in your house or barn.
TIP:
I recommend constructing drying racks with hardware mesh. They are easy to construct and you can dry lots of garlic with a minimal footprint because they are tiered. Simply lay your garlic on the drying racks and once all of the green material has turned brown the garlic is dry.
Once the tops are 100% brown cut them off and compost them
Brush off any remaining dirt on the bulb and carefully peel off 1 or two layer of outer skin to make the garlic look presentable for market or for your table
This garlic has been dried and cleaned and are now ready to be taken to market
Conclusion
Garlic is an easy and worthwhile crop to grow in your fields or in your garden. I hope this guide will be a great aid to you if you do decide to plant your own garlic.