Concerning Garlic

Concerning Our Garlic

Our family loves Garlic; since Gail is such a good cook, we use lots of it. We plan on one bulb of garlic a week or 52 a year. Garlic stores well, we are using it to just about when we bring in the next crop.

Garlic is planted just after the first real frosts, about the second week of October. It is planted so that the top is covered by an inch of soil, then two inches of light mulch is applied over the soil. Garlic is planted in rows of 3, rows six inches apart as are the cloves within the rows. At least 18” is reserved between the row groups, for any weeding.

As mentioned we plan on 52 bulbs for consumption per year. There are on average 4 cloves per bulb, so 52/4= 13 bulbs are required just for planting the following season. So now we are up to 66 cloves required. We plant 100, since we have lots of demands for our almost fist sized Ophio garlic; it is rare for a clove to die overwinter.

Good soil is required for a good crop; light, high compost soil is recommended and an airy location, moderate sun and water. The crop is gathered about August 15, when about half of the leaves, the bottom ones, have died.

Doug Frizzle - Stillwater Lake, Nova Scotia 2010