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Vegetable Gardening

When to plant Garlic

14 years ago

Hi everyone,

If you all can't tell I'm pretty new to gardening so hence all the questions. :)

Last year as an experiment I planted a few cloves of garlic (from a store bought white garlic)in my garden box. I think I planted them around May or June.

Well I planted them more to earn the tops than to earn some new garlic bulbs and the tops grew and died as it became hot and dry down here but once it turned cooler in the fall the garlic started growing again so I thought this was interesting and planted a few more cloves to see how it turns out.

The garlic I planted survived the winter freeze we had and in one of my garden boxes I now have three very large necks of garlic, and a few smaller necks.

I'm thinking this year of building another garden box and devoting it to growing garlic but when is the right time to plant??

I haven't dug up the garlic I've grown yet so I don't know the outcome but from the looks of it the ones I planted in the summer are rather large where the ones I planted in the fall are smaller.

Should garlic cloves be planted in the summer and allow to die off like mine did?

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Comments (4)

vwtx
14 years ago
I'm up around Dallas and always plant mine in October, then harvest around the end of May into June. I also snap off any flower shoots before they bloom so the plant puts it's energy into making larger bulbs. Hope this helps :)
lnewport
Original Author
14 years ago
Thank You vwtx. Makes me wonder how those I planted in the summer will turn out. I did plant some in the fall so hopefully those turn out well. I'm so very excited and it's killing me not to pull them up to look at them LOL.
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yes there is a downside to planting early. the leaves shoot up and die in the winter taking away some of the strength of the bulb. I am 43 North and still waiting in new england to plant. I would advise waiting to the end of this month. you only want roots to grow under ground before everything freezes up. think tulips. you do not want green leaves to grow until spring. Anyway. my opinion is not scientific knowledge. It is more my opinion of what works. Purdue has a huge agriculture dept and I would go with what they say. Why not give them a phone call if you live close by. They also publish an agriculture bulletin for years. all online. I am sure they discuss garlic on their ag bulletin.
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Plant garlic in fall (oct-dec). Choose softneck types , creole , or turban types for the best sucess. Garlic should grow all winter and be ready for harvest in May -June. Gourmet garlic gardens website has special info for growing garlic in the deep south.
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I don't know what USDA zone you are comparable to so I can't say, but I generally fall plant in Sept (zone 5). My first frost is usually sometime in the beginning of Oct and it doesn't hard freeze for 1-3 months thereafter depending on the year. If the cloves are sprouting already then I would say get them in the ground. They are going to have a better shot growing in the soil than in the bag no matter how you look at it ;-)
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Garlic should go in the ground in fall, October to mid-November. It's a little late now, although I do have some sprouting in the kitchen that I will probably jam into the dirt and hope for the best. They probably will grow and form bulbs, but won't be as vigorous and will make smaller bulbs than if you had planted them last fall. Onions on the other hand... depends on your specific climate, and whether you're planting seed or sets. The trick with onions is to avoid letting them go through a prolonged cold spell, which triggers bolting (after it warms back up).
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skeip
14 years ago
I have been growing garlic for many years, albeit in a slightly cooler climate here in WI. I plant in October, mulch heavily to keep down weeds, and dig ripe garlic in July. Your garlic doesn't actually "die off", but rather goes dormant, and comes back when conditions are favorable for growth. You can grow garlic as a perennial if all you are interested in is the greens, but if you want the actual cloves, when it goes dormant you need to dig it up.

Then just before your cooler wetter weather starts, replant individual cloves to grow for the next season. Always plant the very best and largest cloves, and eat the smaller ones. If you don't dig each season, the cloves will become smaller and smaller, and the tops more grass-like.

Good luck!

Steve
lnewport
Original Author
14 years ago
Thank You so much Steve!! That is very helpful ;)

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