Garlic in the grocery store has become more and more disappointing. Apparently, at least part of the reason for this is because there is very little commercial production of garlic in the US any more. Most garlic we eat in the US is produced in China. As a result, by the time it reaches our stores, it is often old and starting to rot or sprout.
I decide to look into growing my own garlic. It is supposed to be pretty easy to grow, as long as you have well draining soil.
Garlic can be grown from garlic cloves. However, since most garlic in the grocery store is treated with an anti-sprouting agent, you might not be successful using garlic from the store. For my garden, I bought organic garlic at the farmers market in Vermont.
When to plant seems a little confusing - some sites say that garlic is traditionally planted on the shortest day of the year. However, most suggest planting garlic after the first major frost, which for my Maryland garden will probably be some time in late October.
Have you planted garlic? If so, I would appreciated any tips!
Photo credit: Muffet
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I've grown garlic in my MD and now DE gardens for years. It was supermarket garlic from China that started sprouting in the refrigerator and it's a perennial crop so I haven't bought the stuff from the store in years. I had heavy clay soil in MD (Gaithersburg)amd the bulbs were smaller than what I now grow in my sandy soil in DE (Rehoboth). I've planted as late as December and it seems to do just fine. I also replant at harvest time in June/July if there are any bulbs that are undersized. After curing for a couple of weeks in the garage, I pull out any that look moldy or soft and toss in the compost pile - some of those actually sprout when they feel like it later in the season. I've also left undersized garlic in the ground and the following season had a bumber crop of good sized bulbs - plus the little bulblets stay in the ground and grow back in a season or two. The flower heads in the spring are surprisingly mild and tasty - great stir fried. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the advice - I just planted my garlic this weekend. The bulb only had 4 cloves, so I may get some from the grocery store and plant more.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for the tip on the flowers - can't wait to try them!