It’s early spring. Much of the garden is still brown, decomposed from last year’s growth or covered in mulch to protect tender beds. And then you see them – tiny green shoots. They poke their heads through the brown and stand ready to face the weather. Your garlic is starting to grow.
After planting your garlic cloves in the fall (usually September or October), something magical happened in the cold winter soil. Those cloves began to divide into clusters of new bulbs in a process called vernalization. And it’s your job to support them now so that you can harvest the biggest bulbs in the summer.
So what do you need to do? Garlic is a pretty simple plant. It doesn’t need a lot of attention. But it is a heavy feeder so we want to give it as much as we can. Apply a nitrogen-rich fertilizer first thing in the spring, boosting the plant right as it starts to come out of dormancy. A balanced, all-purpose fertilizer like Wilco’s 16-16-16 is. a perfect match with readily available nitrogen and an appropriate blend of potash and phosphorus.
Wilco, 16-16-16 All Purpose Fertilizer
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You can also use a complete organic fertilizer mixture like Down to Earth Rose
Down to Earth, Premium Rose & Flower Food, 5 lb
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Feeding garlic means feeding weeds. So spreading a thick layer of straw or leaves after you fertilize helps to cut down on weed growth. Garlic doesn’t like to compete for nutrients in the soil and while you could just pull the weeds as they come up, you risk harming the garlic. It is a root vegetable and they like to be left alone underground.
If you planted soft-necked garlic, make sure to cut back any flowering stems so the plant can focus its attention on bulb growth. If you planted hard-necked garlic, it isn’t an awful idea to let some of the flowering stems grow into an early summer treat of scapes – a curly cue below the flower that can be chopped into salads, pickled, or added to cooking for a very mild garlic flavor. Scapes first grow straight out of the garlic bulb, then coil. When harvested, they look like long, curly green beans.
By early summer, your garlic will be well-established. If you started with good soil and rich compost, you should not need to fertilize again. When in doubt, add a little blood meal or chicken manure around each plant. Depending on the summer weather, you will need to water a couple times a week. Garlic – like most bulbs – doesn’t like wet feet, so make sure you don’t drown it.
Garlic is harvested during the summer – June through August. It is easy enough to tell when it’s ready. The green stalks will begin to yellow at the tip and slowly tip over. When harvesting, dig carefully around the head. Do not pull it out by the shoots. Although you may get larger heads if you wait, you run the risk of splitting and disease so it’s best to dig up your bed by August.
Cure the garlic heads by laying them out of newspaper or hanging them from the rafters in the garage. When they are dry, cut back the stems, wipe off the dirt, and store them in a cool, dark, dry area. If stored properly, they can last up to a year.
So enjoy those bright little shoots. They mean spring is here and the garden will soon be buzzing. Give them the little attention they need. And watch. In six months time, you’ll be savoring your favorite garlic dishes from your own garlic bulbs.
