After a cold snap earlier this week with overnight temperatures in the lower 40s, this weekend is back up to 80 degree days. The leaves are just beginning to turn here in Connecticut, and I probably could wait a few weeks more to plant my garlic, but sometimes you have to bend the rules a little bit with gardening. Nice weather and free time preempt waiting a few more weeks.
I like garlic because it is fairly easy to grow. I have two varieties this fall. A German Hardneck that I grew myself and a new variety called Music, which I acquired from a local garden shop.
Pick a location that gets a lot of sun and that you will have easy access to water. Garlic grows best this way. I've tried growing it in part sun/shade and the bulbs I harvested were small as a result.
I start out by adding some compost to my grow bed that had tomatoes in it this summer. (I practice crop rotation in my garden.)
I made several holes in a diamond pattern throughout the bed, approximately 4-5 inches deep. In each hole I placed a garlic clove. (I used the largest ones that I harvested earlier in the summer. The smaller ones will find their way to the cooking pot.) Then I covered each one up and watered them. That's it!
I filled the entire raised bed with the German Hardneck variety. Looks like I'll have to find another location for Music!
Update 10.8.16: I've read that using an organic fertilizer after planting and mulching the bed with chopped straw makes a difference and creates big heads of garlic. I plan on trying that this year!
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