How We Grow, Cure & Store Garlic: From Clove to Bulb

we eat a lot of garlic but even with a small garden we can grow all of the garlic we need garlic is incredibly easy to grow in many climates and a great crop for beginning gardeners today I'll share how we grow garlic from clove to bulb there are two basic kinds of garlic hard neck and soft neck as the names imply hardneck garlic has a stiff stand and soft neck garlic has a more pliable stem that falls over when it's ready to harvest we usually grow hard neck varieties because of our cold hardy some popular hard necks include music Siberian and Spanish Roja as a rule hard necks don't store as well as soft necks but music garlic which we grow stores very well unless it from last year's harvest to the beginning of this year's hardneck garlic is typically planted in the fall soft neck garlic is what you usually find in grocery stores though generally not as cold hardy as hard necks there are varieties that can handle our winters softening garlic can be planted in very early spring but produces larger more flavorful bulbs when planted in the fall soft neck varieties including jelly and red California early white and California late white I should also mention elephant garlic though it's related to garlic is not actually a true garlic and is more closely related to leeks Alton garlic has much larger but fewer bulbs and a mild garlic flavor it's not as cold hardy as garlic and sometimes doesn't survive the winter when planted in the fall here in zone 5 so it's probably best if you're in a colder climate to start elephant garlic early in the spring but if you're in a warm climate you can plant it in the spring or the fall garlic grows best in full Sun but tolerates partial shade it prefers fertile well-drained soil was plenty of compost and a pH between 6 and 7 when planted in the fall in colder climates garlic goes dormant over the winter and resumes growth in the spring when the soil temperature warms garlic grows best when the soil temperatures between 55 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit garlic isn't a heavy feeder and like all crops on our garden does very well with an annual application of compost or vermicompost we also keep it mulching with leaves and other free local resources we get garlic for planting from three different sources commercial seed suppliers organic garlic from grocery stores and garlic that we've saved from the previous harvest this year's crop of music garlic was grown from bulbs I purchased from an online seed supplier ideally I'd like to grow all of our garlic from saved clothes rather than garlic from expensive online suppliers so I'll save some of the largest bulbs from this harvest for planting in the fall other than using saved bulbs from your last harvest the least expensive source you can usually find is organic garlic from the store it's important to only plant organic garlic because unlike conventional garlic it isn't sprayed with growth inhibitors that prevents sprouting rather than planting all of our garlic in one bed they like to plant it in a variety of locations around the garden next to unrelated crops this makes it more difficult for pests to find their desired crops and reduces disease issues that are more common in monoculture beds in addition we practice crop rotation we don't plant garlic in the same exact location where we planted it or other onion related crops like onions leeks and shallots over the past couple of years the amend our beds with compost and/or vermicompost each year and plant garlic in late October a couple weeks after our average first frost date if you plan to early the garlic greens can grow and die back from the cold multiple times which can reduce bulb size we don't separate the clothes from the bulb until we're ready to plant this keeps the root nodules on the clothes from drying out and helps the garlic establish roots quickly we plant close pointy side up blunt side down in holes about three inches deep and four to six inches apart of course you could also create a three inch deep trench plant the cloves in it and cover them with soil after planting we multiply autumn leaves this protects the garlic from cold during the winter suppresses weeds in the spring makes the soil more friable by attracting earthworms to the area and it conserves moisture in the soil in the spring we pull back some of the mulch to make sure that it isn't suppressing growth of new green garlic shoots and as a mulch decomposes we add more like grass clippings and company to make sure the ground stays covered garlic doesn't require much water and as a rule we get enough rain that we don't have to water it if you live in a dry climate it should do well with about an inch or two of water per week during the growing season about a month before your hard neck garlic is ready to harvest you can start enjoying garlic goodness from your garden by harvesting garlic scapes they have a delicious mild garlic flavor substitute for garlic and recipes it's believed that removing the scapes increases bulb size by redirecting more of the plants energy to the bulb instead of the scape we harvest them when they formed at least one loop and we cut them at the bottom of the stalk without cutting the garlic leaves themselves it's now late July now we've been harvesting garlic is needed for meals for the last few weeks and we have several bulbs curing now it's time to harvest the last of our crop you know Softnet garlic is ready to harvest when the top flops over and hardneck is ready when at least a few of the leaves have turned yellow this hard neck music garlic is definitely ready to harvest we usually start harvesting garlic in early July and we finish in late July garlic should be picked on a dry day and it's best to stop watering a couple weeks before harvesting depending on your soil type you may need a garden fork to harvest garlic but our soil is friable enough that we can just pull it up by the stem now that we've harvested the garlic it's time to cure it the curing process prepares garlic for storage tiering allows garlic to dry evenly without spoilage in preparation for storage over winter it's done by either hanging or placing the garlic on racks in a shady well-ventilated dry area for at least a couple weeks for example a covered porch or a shed with an open door our excellent locations to cure garlic we're hanging ours in a hoop house and covering the area with a blue tarp if you cure garlic inside a fan will improve air circulation and allow the garlic to dry more evenly garlic is one of the easiest crops to store over the winter soft neck varieties tend to store better but the hard neck music garlic that we grew last year lasted long enough that we didn't have to buy any garlic from the store for meals after garlic has cured we cut the stem to about an inch trim the roots and gently brush off remaining soil if the garlic is very dirty you might remove a layer or two of the wrapper until the bulb is clean before storing we separate damaged bulbs from healthy bulbs and use the damaged ones first because they probably won't store very well we also select the largest healthiest bulbs that we'll use as seed garlic in the fall we store our garlic and mesh bags in a cool dry dark cupboard you can also use paper bags woven baskets and cardboard boxes as long as the container is breathable fortunately is very easy to save garlic that we've harvested from our garden to plant in the fall for the next crop as I mentioned earlier we say the largest bulbs from our summer harvest to plants in the fall this will give us larger bulbs in the next crop saving garlic year after year for planting allows it to adapt to local climate and growing conditions over time we store our seed garlic just like the garlic we stored for meals and we leave the bulbs intact until we're ready to plant in October temperatures between 40 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit cause garlic to sprout so we make sure to always store our seed garlic at room temperature so it doesn't sprout before we're ready to plant I hope this video gave you some useful information on how to grow cure and store garlic please let me know in a comment below if you have any questions if you like this video please give it a thumbs up if you haven't already please subscribe for more videos on how to grow a lot of food on a little land without spending much or working harder than you have to you

Channel: OYR Frugal & Sustainable Organic Gardening

Views: 616,972

Rating: 4.9474821 out of 5

Keywords: How to grow garlic, how to plant garlic, how to harvest garlic, when to plant garlic, how to cure garlic, how to store garlic, music garlic, spanish roja garlic, hard neck garlic, soft neck garlic, how to grow garlic from cloves, how to grow garlic at home, organic garlic, garden secrets, best youtube gardening channel, best garden, Back to eden, permaculture, frugal, top tips, food forest, incredible, amazing, best, how to, easy, simple, top, big, popular, hack, gardening secrets

Id: nEVwV7LQwhM

Length: 8min 53sec (533 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 24 2016