Hi.
I planted two clay pots with garlic the first week of September. The green stalks look healthy as ever, but we’re getting frosts in NJ now.
Should I pull the bulbs Now (early)?
Or should I just bring them inside & hope window sunlight is enough?
Planting garlic in the fall and leaving it all winter is the correct way to grow it, at least here in Oregon. The little shoots will grow slowly and the bulbs will develop underground all winter. Then in the spring the tops will complete their growth and you pull them up right before the tops flower.
Pull it about July when the flowers are forming, Let the bulbs dry, and then plant single cloves again in Sept or Oct and you will have perpetual garlic.
Frost is not going to hurt garlic.
I’ve had garlic growing in my yard as long as I’ve lived here. It just grows like weeds. I just harvest it as I need it and leave the rest alone.
How does it work when the issue isn’t frost, but freezing rock solid? Can garlic be planted in the fall in places where the ground freezes?
Yeah, it’s hardy even in frozen ground.
The start of September is pretty early to plant though, normally the aim of Autumn planting for garlic is to have the plant just getting started into growth (ie, producing roots but nothing showing above ground) before it freezes, because top growth will likely be killed by the low temperatures, even though the bulb won’t be, so early growth actually ‘costs’ the bulb, rather than helping it, if that makes sense.
You may wonder why you’d bother planting in Autumn, given that, but it does affect the final plant; it will be a little earlier, but more importantly, it can strengthen the flavour and if the plant doesn’t go through a cold spell, it can fail to split into cloves, producing one solid bulb instead. You can try planting really late deliberately, if you want giant cloves.
You don’t HAVE any bulbs now. Garlic rewards the patient gardener! And yes, frost is fine.
As noted, the optimal time to plant garlic is in late fall. Whether or not any green shoots appear, a good root system is forming and plants will take off in spring (in colder climates, some mulch is a good idea.*
Generally you’re advised to harvest garlic right around the time the foliage is beginning to yellow. Flowering is variable; I’ve had this happen in mid-spring, well before bulbs reach optimal size.
*If garlic is planted in a pot, the cold and or freeze/thawing could be problematic (not to mention that clay pots may shatter when left out over the winter). Best to sink the pot in the ground for insulation.
Is it as simple as panting a few cloves? How deep?
Just about 2 inches deep. My mom’s in Western NC and she plants the same Pskem River GarlicI do here in Utah. She gets better results than I do, but she fertilizes more regularly than I do as well.
Is it too late to plant for for zone 4?
No, not if you can still work the soil easily and don’t have snow on the ground.
Leave them in the ground. In my experience, it takes about six months from planting for them to be ready to harvest. They’ll sit in the ground dormant during the cold months, then take off in spring. Harvest them when the green tops turn yellow and flop over. Pull them up, and then put them, tops and all, into a cool dry place for a week or two to further dry out. Cut off the tops and store.
A few of the first freshly harvested bulbs always get roasted whole in our house!
Yes, it is just that simple. Each individual clove is the bulb of a new plant. Plant pointy end up, root end down. As if you were planting flower bulbs.
Some garlic heads that you buy in the super market could have been treated to delay sprouting. So you probably should either get them from the organic sections or better yet from a farmer’s market.
Plant a garlic clove to the depth of your first finger joint (the one with the nail) and let it overwinter. The foliage will die, and the cloves with sit dormant all winter. They will resprout in the spring; you can also use the green tops, and the scapes (flower buds) are also wonderful to eat.
You harvest it in midsummer when the foliage dies back.
Okay, I might try it in containers. Do bugs like it? I don’t need to spray for anything, or worry about blossom end rot or aphids, dutch elm disease and all that?
I have not had any insects or mammals bothering my garlic. You shouldn’t need to spray it with any pesticide.
People actually use spray made of garlic to deter pests on other plants! Really, nothing much bothers it.
In my area, it does get rust, but that doesn’t tend to be a major problem.
Just as an update, they were in clay pots.
I transplanted them last week. I guess I’ll know next spring…
In fact, I use a spray made w/ a cheesecloth poultice of garlic powder and hot peppers.
Thanks for the advice, consider this part of the “holy trinity” of the culinary world - garlic, butter, and onions.