5 Ways to Grow Garlic - wikiHow 1/23/2014

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Method 3 of 5: Caring for Garlic Plants
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How to Grow Garlic
Preparing to Grow Garlic Planting the Garlic Caring for Garlic Plants Harvesting the
Garlic Storing Garlic
Edited by Rob S, 1guitarhero2, Viral, MA and 12 others

Garlic is used to make a variety of dishes more succulent, it has wonderful health benefits and it
can be dried to last for a long time. Growing garlic is easy and inexpensive, and one growing
season produces so much garlic that you'll have plenty to share with your friends. Read on for
information on sourcing garlic to plant, cultivating the garlic, harvesting it at the end of the growing
season, and storing it properly.

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Method 1 of 5: Preparing to Grow Garlic Related Articles

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1 Find out when to plant garlic in your region. In general, the best times for planting
are mid-autumn or early spring.
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Garlic grows well in a wide range of climates. It does less well in areas of high heat
or humidity, or where there is a lot of rainfall.
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2 Choose a planting spot and prepare the soil. Garlic needs a lot of full sun, but it
might tolerate partial shade provided it's not for very long during the day or growing
afraid to make a bold edit, especially if
you know it can improve the article!

season. The soil must be well dug over and crumbly. Sandy loam is best. Join The Community
Ensure that the soil has good drainage. Clay-based soils are not good for planting
garlic.
Use compost and manure to add nutrients to the soil before planting the garlic. Follow Us On...

3 Source fresh garlic. Garlic is grown by planting the cloves - called seeds for our
purposes - so to get started all you need to do is buy fresh garlic. Choose garlic from
a store, or even better, a farm stand or the local farmers market. It's very important that the
garlic bulbs chosen are fresh and of high quality. If you can, avoid garlic that has been
sprayed with chemical sprays.
Choose fresh garlic bulbs with large cloves. Avoid garlic that has become soft.
Each clove will sprout into a garlic plant, so keep that in mind when you're figuring
out how many heads to buy.
If you have some garlic at home that has sprouted, that's great to use.
Nurseries also offer garlic bulbs for planting. Visit a nursery if you want to get a
specific variety or to get advice on local conditions for garlic.

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Method 2 of 5: Planting the Garlic

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1 Break the cloves from a fresh garlic head. Be careful not to damage the cloves at
their base, where they attach to the garlic plate. If the base is damaged, the garlic will
not grow.
Plant the larger cloves. The smaller cloves take up just as much space in the
planting bed, but they produce much smaller bulbs.

2 Push each clove into the soil. Point the tips upward and plant the cloves about 2
inches (5cm) deep.
The cloves should be spaced about 20cm (8 inches) apart for best growing
conditions.

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3 Cover the planted cloves with mulch. Suitable toppings include hay, dry leaves,
straw, compost, well rotted manure or well rotted grass clippings.

4 Fertilize the cloves or top-dress with compost. The planted garlic needs a
complete fertilizer at the time of planting.
Fertilize again in the spring if you are planting your garlic in the fall, or in the fall if
you're planting it in the spring.

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1 Water the plants often. Newly planted garlic needs to be kept moist to help the roots
to develop. Don't overdo the water, as garlic does not grow well, or may even rot, if
sodden during cold months.
Water deeply once a week if rain has not fallen. Watering garlic is not necessary
unless there is a drought, in which case water sparingly, as garlic hates wet soil.
Reduce the watering gradually as the season warms up. The garlic needs a hot,
dry summer to allow the bulbs to mature.

2 Take care of pests. Insects, mice and other creatures may come to eat the garlic or
make a nest among the plants. Beware the following pests:
Aphids seem to enjoy garlic leaves and the flower buds. They're easy to dispense
with - simply rub your fingers over them and squash them or apply a
Many people tend to plant garlic underneath roses to deter aphids; the roses
benefit from the aphids being drawn away.
Mice and other small creatures sometimes nest in mulch. If you have a problem
with mice in your area, consider using a type of mulch that doesn't attract them.

Edit
Method 4 of 5: Harvesting the Garlic

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1 Eat some scapes. As the garlic plants begin to grow, long green stalks called
scapes will emerge and form loops. Pull off a few scapes and eat them if you wish.
This may damage the garlic bulbs themselves, so don't do it to every plant.
Use gloves when pulling off scapes; otherwise your hands will smell of garlic for
days.

2 Note the signs of readiness for harvesting. Garlic bulbs are ready to be
harvested when you can feel the individual cloves in the bulb, and the leaves turn
yellow or brown.
Once the scapes start to dry, it is important to harvest the garlic or the head will
"shatter" and divide into the individual cloves.
Begin harvesting at the end of the summer. Harvesting can continue well into
autumn in most places.
Some warm climates may enable earlier harvesting of garlic.

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3 Loosen the area around each bulb with a shovel. Pull the bulbs out of the ground.

Be careful with the digging process, since garlic tends to bruise easily.
Wash them and leave to dry in a well-ventilated space or in the sun for a few days if
rain is guaranteed not to fall. Garlic can get sunburned, so don't leave them outside
for too long.

Edit
Method 5 of 5: Storing Garlic

1 Store garlic in a cool, dry place in your home. Dried bulbs can be kept in a garlic
keeper (usually made from pottery), and individual cloves can be pulled off as
needed.

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2 Make a garlic plait or braid. The dried leaves can be kept back and plaited or
braided into a strand, from which you can hang the garlic bulbs in your pantry or
kitchen. This is both decorative and useful.

3 Store garlic in oil or vinegar. Garlic cloves can be kept in oil or vinegar. However,
to avoid the potential for bacterial growth, keep in the refrigerator and consume
quickly.
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Tips Edit

Save a bulb or two of garlic from this year's harvest to break into cloves and plant next
fall.
For clay soil get sand, mix it in and plant the clove. It really works!

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Big cloves tend to equal big bulbs.

While it's perfectly all right to plant grocery store or farm stand garlic, you may want to try
other varieties. Visit nurseries or nursery websites for many more options, including
other colors.
Garlic is very cold-hardy. You can plant it in the fall, leave it in the ground over the winter
and harvest at the end of the next summer.

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Warnings Edit

Don't let the garlic dry out in the ground. This will cause the bulb to split.
Don't freeze garlic bulbs. They will turn to mush and be unsuitable for reuse.

Things You'll Need Edit

Garlic cloves

Fertilizer, well rotted manure or compost

Hay, straw, well rotted grass clippings (mulch)

Watering equipment

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Sources and Citations Edit

Caroline Foley, Jill Nice and Marcus A. Webb, New Herb Bible, p. 51, (2001), ISBN 1-
875-169-92-X – research source
Bay Books Gardening Library, Herbs for Your Garden, p. 50, (1992), ISBN 1-86378-

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028-9 – research source

Article Info

Categories: Growing Herbs and Spices

Recent edits by: June, Laura, TJean
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