Garlic - Planting To Harvest #garlic #gardeningtips #gardening #growyourownfood

✅ Consider planting varieties that are adapted to your climate. Hard-neck garlic is for cool/cold regions, and soft-neck garlic is for temperate/warm climates. If you’re in a warm environment, you can plant garlic through January; just ensure it’s pre-chilled for at least six weeks before planting. Garlic requires at least 45 days of chilling or vernalization below 40-45 F to develop robust bulbs and divide into segmented cloves. 

✅ Plant in full sun (6+ hours) in fertile, well-drained soil. Plant your cloves at least 2-3 weeks before your first autumn frost to allow roots to establish before winter dormancy. I amended the soil worm castings, which improved soil structure and added essential nutrients, trace elements, and beneficial microorganisms. 
✅ Keep the papery husk on the cloves, which can prevent them from direct contact with moisture and rot. Plant the big cloves and use the small ones for eating. Big cloves will result in larger-sized cloven bulbs. 

✅ Plant cloves with the pointy end up and blunt side down. Bury each clove 2” deep and 6” apart. You can plant them deeper in cold climates (4” deep). Rows spaced 12” apart. 

✅ Water after planting unless you’re expecting rain. Place a 2-4” layer of mulch to insulate the cloves and suppress weeds. 

✳️It will take 7-9 months from planting to harvest, depending on climate and variety.

Fertilize In Spring

Feed the soil with a high-nitrogen fertilizer by mid-May or before the bulbs swell. In this video, I used Vitality worm casting extract and worm castings on one of the raised beds (you can use either of them). A handful of worm castings can be applied between two plants or broadcasted down the row. Water after application to wash nutrients down to the root zone.  Avoid high nitrogen fertilizer after May, which can result in excess foliage at the expense of bulb growth. If grown in containers, it’s a good idea to fertilize every 2-3 weeks starting in early spring (March/April) as nutrients leach out. If you’re using worm castings, nutrients are usually retained longer. 

✅ Stop watering when the leaves start to die back as bulbs mature or two weeks before harvest. Garlic is ready to harvest when the lower leaves turn yellow or brown. 

✅If you’re growing hard-neck garlic, remember to remove these tasty scapes. They have a mild garlic flavor! 

Harvesting Garlic 

1. Wait until the bottom 2-3 leaves are tan or yellow (about ⅓ to ½  of the leaves). Garlic will grow 6-9 leaves that wrap around the bulbs, forming an outer papery layer. 

2. Lift the bulb with a shovel or garden fork a few inches away from the stalks or carefully pull if the soil is loose. 

3. Do not wash the bulbs; this can lead to rot or mold and slow the curing process. 

4. For long-term storage, they should be dried or cured for 2-3 weeks. Find a dry area with good ventilation and place bulbs in a single layer on a drying rack, wooden table, or cardboard. You can also hang the bulbs. Keep them away from sunlight, which can alter the beneficial constituents and flavor. 

5. After curing, gently remove dirt and the outer layer of the paper wrapper, if dirty, and trim roots to 1/4 to 1/2” and stalk to about an inch.

6. Cured garlic can last between 3 and 9 months, sometimes up to 12 months, depending on the environment. Soft-neck garlic generally stores longer than hard-neck types, which last between 3 and 7 months.

7. Store in a cool, well-ventilated area away from direct light/sunlight. We usually store our garlic in the basement with a relative humidity of 50-60% and temperatures between 55-65 F in the fall and winter months. We place the garlic bulbs in wicker baskets and reuse mesh bags (hung up) and egg cartons. 

If you’d like to try Vermisterra worm casting products, make sure to use code learntogrow for a savings of 10% and free shipping in the US. Thank you! ➡️ https://vermisterra.com/

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Видео Garlic - Planting To Harvest #garlic #gardeningtips #gardening #growyourownfood канала Learn To Grow