Planting Garlic for Fall

My fresh stock of locally grown garlic

I like to plant the larger outer sections of the cloves

Getting a little help from my neighbor's kitten, Turkey

Growing garlic has always been a hit or miss proposition for me. I really enjoy growing garlic, but some autumns I just don’t get around to planting it. I run into issues of what variety to grow, where to plant, and when to plant. Even though I know that there are many varieties available through mail order and online seed companies, I have just in the past purchased cloves from my local supermarket, with mixed results at best. This season, after doing a little research, I am going to employ a different strategy.

Instead of buying garlic of unknown variety from my local grocer, I visited a local vegetable stand where they had beautiful cloves on sale that were locally grown, and purchased about five of the plumpest ones I could find. I’m going to go with the theory that this locally grown garlic is a variety that will do well in my area, and be more acclimated to my weather and soil conditions.

I prepared a new bed right next to my hoop house, took theses cloves and broke off the larger outer portions, and planted them about two inches deep, about 6 inches apart, kind of in the way one would plant fall bulbs for spring. These cloves should start sprouting quickly, and thrive in the cooler soil. They will sprout up again in early spring, and should be ready to harvest after the stalks die back in July. If this variety works out, I will save the best cloves, and replant them again next fall. If this theory holds up, and I repeat this season after season, I should have a customized type that should do really well for me in my soil, year after year.

One success that I have had every time I have planted garlic is to confirm the legend that garlic does indeed keep vampires away from my family and property, as we have suffered no vampire attacks to my knowledge, during the years of my growing it. I have not, however, had any success whatsoever in finding a variety that keeps movies about vampires away, as those seem to be piling up in my DVD library with disturbing regularity!