Many people don’t know how to plant garlic (Allium sativum). I have personal experience in planting and growing garlic and it is very easy to plant garlic. In planting garlic, we don’t need much expertise even beginners can plant and grow garlic in a much better way.
The few steps that are necessary for how to plant garlic from a clove are given below:
Garlic Types For Growing
Three main varieties that grow best and make taste in your cooking are described below and is important to understand when learning how to plant garlic from a clove:
1. Hardneck Garlic
Hardneck Garlic gets its name from garlic scapes which are thin, vibrant green stalks. Scapes must be cut out after sometime for the best potential of the bulb. The flavor of this garlic is much better than softneck garlic but it can grow only in cold areas. It is best for the northern gardeners that are living in high latitudes and it can grow only in harsh winters.
The storage time of these garlics is less than the softneck garlic which is about 2 to 3 months. Cloves that grow in hardneck garlic are 12 or fewer but larger than softneck garlic. They grow in a single layer around a hard stem.
Hardneck varieties: Most popular hardneck varieties are ‘Music’ (true garlic hot flavor); ‘chesnok garlic’ (mild and sweet, rich flavor when roasted); ‘German red’ (strong, medium and hot flavor when roasted) ‘Spanish Roja’ (excellent, classic, rich garlic flavor).
2. Softneck Garlic
Softneck garlic doesn’t form scapes as it has larger bulbs with smaller cloves. It can grow best in southern areas and southern gardeners use this type of garlic. The weather it takes to grow is warmer and it also has 40 irregular smaller cloves because energy is not transported properly to top edges.
The storage time of softneck garlic is about six months and has a better storage time than hardneck garlic. Most of the garlic you see in grocery stores is hardneck. If you plan to braid garlic in your garden then softneck garlic is for you.
Softneck varieties: Most popular varieties are ‘california white early’ (suitable for most climates has milder flavor and is very productive) ‘california white later’ ( better flavor and harvest in summer) ‘silver white’ ( high yielding and long storage garlic with classic flavor) ‘inchelium red’ ( mild flavored garlic and best in softneck garlic ) ‘Lorz italian’ ( hot and spicy taste with large heads).
3. Elephant Garlic
Elephant garlic is generally not a true garlic and it belongs to the same genus as onions, garlic and leeks. It has larger bulbs than a simple garlic and has a great longer storage. The bulbs contain fewer cloves like 4 to 6 cloves. It has a milder taste with less pungent smell.
Timings For Planting Garlic
When To Plant Garlic
Garlic needs a suitable and chilling period to grow. However, if you don’t give the chilling period for garlic to grow, garlic cannot grow in that case. In most of the countries, garlic can be planted in fall or early spring. Because garlic needs a temperature of 40°F or 4°C and fall season (between September and November) is best until the ground freezes. When You grow garlic in fall, the garlic heads divide into cloves and it gets better condition to grow while you are learning how to plant garlic.
Garlic requires a period of 4 to 8 months to develop properly. However, when you grow garlic in early spring, the cloves that grow are shorter than the garlic that grows in fall. But still gardeners enjoy garlic scapes in a better way. Most of the gardeners grow garlic in fall and they have a better experience than growing it in early spring.
Preparing Garlic Beds And Cloves
For getting an effective experience of how to plant garlic, then first of all, you must prepare garlic beds for well and effectively growing garlic. Garlic needs full sunlight to grow and needs a well drained, loose and fertile soil. If you want to enhance the fertility of soil then you must add the compost into the soil.
The pH of the soil for planting garlic must be 6.0 to 7.0. And the compost that you add into the soil is 3 to 4 inches deep. Then the soil is fertile and ready to sow garlic. Most of the vegetables are grown from seeds and plants but garlic grows from cloves that are separated from original garlic.
To prepare garlic cloves when learning how to plant garlic, remove the papery outer skin and separate the cloves. When cloves are separated then these cloves are ready to sow into the soil. Garlic needs very abundant fertilizers to grow and if possible you must check the fertility of soil.
How To Plant Garlic From A Clove
After preparing garlic cloves, it is better to know how to plant garlic from a clove. As we discussed earlier, garlic grows from cloves that are cut out from original garlic. Most of the gardeners grow garlic in fall before 4 to 6 weeks of frost.
So first of all, take garlic cloves and dig a hole into the soil and then drop garlic cloves about 4 to 6 inches deep in warmer climates and 6 to 8 inches in colder climates. Then add a free mulch like straws, grass clippings and leaves to retain soil moisture and it also regulates soil temperature.
Each clove grows into a full head after some time. Remove the mulch when there are not harsh conditions, so before planting choose your garlic type. Hardneck garlic is for winter climates and Softneck garlic is for colder climates.
If your soil is not fertile then add as much nutritions as it needs. When planting garlic it is necessary to add fertilizers for better growth of leaves. And garlic takes as much care as other vegetables can take.
Caring For Garlic As It Grows
As we know that the fall planted garlic grows best through mulch until the spring arrives. When leaves are slowly growing, remove the mulch that is used at the growing time. When the leaves grow about 6 inches tall, then add a layer of compost and feed again with the same fertilizer that is used at growing time. For spring garlic, keep this about every six months for best growing garlic. Garlic needs water about 1 inch every week after plantings.
If your area is full of rainfalls then there is no need to water garlic and if your area is dry then it is very necessary to water garlic. When scapes are growing then cut off these scapes and it has an excellence importance in stir fried and sauteed dishes. And it also helps for garlic bulbs to grow larger when learning how to plant garlic from a clove. And when your garlic has reached its maximum size and leaves are turning yellow then stop watering garlic and hardened bulbs.
Pest Management
Several insects like leaf-miners, thrips, cutworms and white maggots cause problems for garlic but it can be very easy to protect garlic from pests while discovering how to plant garlic from a clove. Sevin insect killer is used for these types of pests and it can best be controlled through this. Moreover, one of the pests, the Allium leaf miner that is found mostly in northeastern areas can destroy the garlic. This is a small fly that feeds garlic and lays eggs near garlic and destroys the garlic within a few weeks.
One of the ways to protect garlic when learning how to plant garlic from a clove is to cover it with an insect-proof mesh to guard against allium leaf miners. Moreover, it can also be protected when you plant garlic in late autumn but it cannot be protected in a successful way. So it can also be protected through floating row cover. Several fungal diseases can also attack om garlic but you can protect garlic through daconil fungicides.
Harvesting Garlic
Harvesting garlic time depends on where you live. Most of the garlic is ready to harvest between early July to September. It also depends on the time when you planted garlic. Most of the garlic takes about 210 days or 7 to 8 months to fully grow but some garlic harvest too early. Some of the garlic types are ready too early, so it is better to check one of the garlic bulbs before harvesting the whole crop.
How Do You Know When Garlic Is Ready To Harvest
When your garlic top leaves are turning yellow and the bottom few leaves are turning brown, it’s the garlic harvest time.
How To Harvest Garlic
Take a spade or garden fork for harvesting garlic and not pull them from a hand. Carefully dig your garlic bulbs but keep in mind that stems are kept separate. When you harvest the garlic you’ve grown, it’s time for storing garlic as part of the process in learning how to plant garlic.
Storing Garlic For A long Time
When you harvest your garlic then keep them in a dry shaded area for 2 to 3 weeks until it cannot be completely dry. Just hang the garlic in the completely dry shaded area in 4 to 5 layers. You can use the brushes or driest wrappers to clean the garlic. Don’t wash garlic as now we are in the phase of drying garlic.
After 2 to 3 weeks when they are completely dry, then cut off the top of garlic about 1 to 2 inches. When learning how to plant garlic, remember don’t cure them in the refrigerator as it is a very cool and humid place and doesn’t give the suitable temperature. Cure them into a dry, airy place where it gets cool air and then they are ready to use for household purposes. The drier your garlic, the more tasteful it will be.
Now we know how to plant garlic from a clove effectively and with a good experience.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Now you have learned successfully how to plant garlic from a clove.
