Great garlic
You can grow your own
GARLIC IS ONE of the easiest crops to grow, harvest and store. It takes about nine months from planting to harvest, so you have to have a dedicated space for it.
One head of garlic has from six to 12 cloves and each clove planted will grow into a new head. For your first planting, purchase new garlic heads that haven’t been treated or put into cold storage, which inhibits growth. Save some of your own garlic for replanting each fall.
Choose a site that gets full sun, with well-draining soil. Ideally, rows should be 2 feet apart and cloves 6 inches apart in the row. Furrow out a shallow row and place the cloves root-side down, then gently cover the row.
Around Thanksgiving, mulch your garlic planting for the winter with a light layer of clean straw or pine bark fines. In early spring, apply a well-balanced fertilizer. Flower scapes (heads) emerge in early June; removing them helps increase the size of the new garlic head. But don’t toss them: They are edible and can be used in a variety of ways.
By mid- to late June and at least two weeks or so after the flower scapes have been removed, harvest your garlic. Store the entire harvested garlic plant in a cool, dry shaded space to dry, which takes three to four weeks. Then, cut off the tops and prepare the head for storage.
If you like to cook with garlic, growing your own, drying and storing it is an easy and economical way to have fresh, tasty garlic on hand all year. It also makes great gifts.
SHELLY NOLD is a horticulturist and owner of The Plant Kingdom. Send stories and ideas to her at The Plant Kingdom, 1000 E Market St., Louisville, KY 40206.
