garlic question

[Alight]

I was told that you could plant garlic in the spring which is what I have done. It is growing great. Did I plant at the wrong time. Will I get a harvest by the end of summer?

Nicki

[DoubleDogFarm]

Nicki,

Sure you will have a harvest of some kind. You maybe surprised and have a good harvest. I believe your bulbs would be larger if planted in the fall and wintered over.

Eric

[tedly]

I kinda figured it was something that should overwinter. I could still get a decent crop if I planted them now though? Hmmm...

[sixshooter]

Soo...how deep is too deep when planting garlic?

I'm not sure how to answer your question. I would say 6" is to deep. I plant my cloves so the top is about an 1" below the soil. Then I add a few inches of hay over the top. Straw would be better, less weed seed.

Eric

I cant remember how far down I planted it. I was in a rush and did it in late october after a weekend up north. Ill be anxious until I see it popping out of the ground.

Hey double dog farm. Completely unrelated. Have you ever heard the band minus the bear? They have a great song about the san juans!

[Father's Daughter]

I plant cloves in mid to late October, and last year harvested it the last week of July. The cloves go in root end down about four inches deep and then they get mulched for the winter. I grow hard necks - German White and Music. From what I gather, soft necks (supermarket varieties) can be planted in the spring and don't need to over-winter, so if that's wht you have, you might be fine planting it now.

[DoubleDogFarm]

Good points, I only grow Music, so I'm not sure on the soft necks. I like the scapes that hard neck varieties produce.

Eric

[DoubleDogFarm]

Hey double dog farm. Completely unrelated. Have you ever heard the band minus the bear? They have a great song about the San Juan's!

Well, I have now!

Tittled, "The Pig War" It's a fun song..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzDhN3GBJ70

A band out of Seattle. Many great bands originated in Seattle!

Eric

[garden3fairy]

I would imagine the planting time varies depending on your zone. I live in zone 8 Florida and I planted my garlic in Febuary. It's doing well but I'll admit it's my first attempt at garlic so I have no idea if spring planting will bring a good harvest. Fingers crossed for us both!

[Father's Daughter]

Good points, I only grow Music, so I'm not sure on the soft necks. I like the scapes that hard neck varieties produce.

Eric

Have you tried using them for pesto? I love basil pesto, but scape pesto is soooo much better!

[gixxerific]

I kinda figured it was something that should overwinter. I could still get a decent crop if I planted them now though? Hmmm...

I planted garlic last year mid Mar or mid Apr I can't remember. But I did get a harvest though they were pretty small. I did have fresh garlic that was tasty (also the garlic I planted last spring came from the grocery store). This year I finally did it right and planted mid Oct. We shall see how this crop does with the extra time. I truly believe that, though you can plant in spring, you will get a much larger crop if planted in the fall. This is yet to be proven in my garden. But I am sure it will.

My suggestion for you spring planters is if you haven't planted yet quit reading this and go out there RIGHT NOW!!!!

[jal_ut]

My experience with spring planted garlic: I got an increase in weight, but none of the cloves made a big multi-cloved bulb. Instead, they made a round. That is one single round clove. It was larger than what was planted and it was certainly garlic. I planted some of these a second year in the fall and got some really nice big bulbs. We garden a world apart, and I can't predict what you will get, but I am certain you will get more than you planted.

[tedly]

My suggestion for you spring planters is if you haven't planted yet quit reading this and go out there RIGHT NOW!!!!

I think I'll wait for it to stop snowing again.

[rainbowgardener]

I planted garlic last fall (I think Oct). This is my first time growing it. The plants are looking so big and happy and healthy out there, and I don't know how big they are supposed to get, so I couldn't resist digging one up (gently) to see what was going on below ground. It was as jal described - bigger than the clove I planted, but one single round bulb. Anyway, I planted it back where it was and it doesn't seem to have suffered any from being inspected.

[garden5]

Jal....I never thought about that! That's a great idea. Plant them in the spring, let them get bigger, then plant them again in the fall for an even larger than normal crop. When I do garlic, I'm going to have to do a side-by-side test with that method.