Printer-Friendly
Email this Story
Post a Comment (0)
Garlic as an ally and deterrent
By Denise Pregenzer
Special to The Culpeper Times
Fall is here, and as the days shorten and my kids begin pelting me with Halloween costumes ideas, I know it is time to plan for next year’s vegetable garden. I begin to clear my summer beds, add compost, plant cover crops and consider where I will plant in the spring. Most importantly, I begin preparation for my October plantings - especially my favorite cooking ally and vampire deterrent – garlic. Garlic should be planted in every home garden. It is easy to grow and wonderfully rewarding. There are two kinds of garlic, softneck, and hardneck, and hundreds of varieties. As a rule, the softneck garlics are generally more popular and easier to grow here in the South. Both types do have a few requirements, however, and if followed, you can expect to have beautiful bulbs for cooking by next summer.
To begin, as all things ultimately begin, you need good soil and a sunny patch of earth. Choose a site that gets at least eight hours of direct sunlight a day. The soil should be well prepared in our red Virginia clay. Garlic, although a native to poor, dry soils, will perform best in hummus-enriched soils with very good drainage. I get good results by heavily amending my site with leaf compost and adding a well composted horse manure to provide nitrogen. Your goal is a loose soil that will not stay too wet or become compacted when dry – two things that will affect good bulb formation and appearance. Once you are satisfied with your soil tilth, get a soil test and add any other nutrients as recommended by the test (call your local extension office for soil test boxes and how-tos).
Once your soil is ready, it’s time to plant. Garlic should be planted about six weeks before the ground freezes. This can be variable here in the Piedmont, but a good rule of thumb is to wait until mid-October. This gives the bulb time to start good root development before resting through the winter months. Plant each clove with the scab (basal plate) down as this is where the roots will emerge. The cloves should be planted at least four inches apart in rows spaced for comfortable maneuvering between rows so that weeding and care my be provided with ease. Cloves should be planted one to three inches into the soil, patted in, and then heavily mulched. I use fresh grass clippings applied about six inches deep. Other ideas are well shredded leaves or chopped straw applied similarly. After this, sit back and wait till spring.
Spring care is light work. Professional growers advocate applying a complete garden fertilizer once a month. If spring rains are inadequate, provide one inch of water per week. Your most laborious job will be keeping your beds free of weeds, but if properly mulched, this should not be daunting.
Your garlic is ready to harvest when all but five or six of the leaves have turned brown. Pick a dry morning to pull up the bulbs. Brush excess dirt off the roots and spread them on screens in a dry place to cure for two to three weeks. When they are cured you may cut off the stems or braid them up and store them in a dry place. Garlic stores well and you should have a ready supply for cooking. Use the damaged bulbs first, and set a few of the best bulbs aside for a new crop.
Then, come October when the days grow shorter and leaves once again begin to fall, and your little ones are dreaming up new Halloween costumes to wear, you can plant them and start the cycle once again – well, after you have used them to scare off vampires, that is. Happy gardening.
You must be logged in to post a comment.