Garlic

[Gary350]

This is the best garlic video that I have found. I have very good luck growing grocery store hard neck garlic. Hard neck always has purple steeks on the skin. Keep seed garlic in refrigerator 2 months before planting. Plant garlic 6 weeks before first frost. Garlic plants need a lot of nitrogen to grow large leaves same as onions. Then 15-15-15 plant food 1 month before last frost for 6 weeks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqklUeAkxes

[Gary350]

Another good garlic video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSeiTF1GMXU

[applestar]

They are both very informative and give you lots to think about.

Couple of things I noted though — first one sounds like she gardens in warmer area with moderate winter freeze (I’d like to find out where) so deep winter freeze gardeners need to keep that in mind.

2nd video explains in description that he gardens in Ireland. He describes various issues he has growing garlic out in the open and said his best garlic are grown under poly roofed cover (it might be an open tunnel?). I noted that he is growing lovely tomatoes in the same space. He has always grown softneck (Italian) variety which as the first video explained is more of a warmer winter variety.

I’m slowly reaching conclusion that it probably gets too hot in the summer to grow tomatoes in my hoophouses.

I venture to guess that he has milder winters and cooler summers than I do.

So there are regional and micro-climate considerations.

Theirs are probably quite close to your winter conditions though, @Gary350.

[imafan26]

Yeah, Gary grows great garlic. At best I get a few small bulbs, but I grow garlic more as a novelty than to seriously try to grow it for yield. It doesn't help that it is hard to get anyone to ship bulbs to Hawaii in the first place, so I do have to use culinary bulbs which are a lot smaller. At least the ones that Costco brings in is the right soft neck variety for my climate. My bulbs have been chilling in the frig since July and they are starting to sprout, so I have to get them in the soil soon.

[Gary350]

He describes various issues he has growing garlic out in the open and said his best garlic are grown under poly roofed cover (it might be an open tunnel?). He has always grown softneck (Italian) variety which as the first video explained is more of a warmer winter variety.

Open tunnel is something I have never though about. What is the purpose of open tunnel, frost protection, easy access, keep snow and ice off the soil & plants? Open tunnel in TN 40 to 70 mph wind tunnel will be gone in 2 seconds. My tiny 2 ft square green houses are dry as desert inside in winter & spring while the rest of the garden is mud.

I learn new things every year. Last year I learned hard neck garlic is good down to 0°f. Last winter -2° killed my garlic. I could probably grow soft neck garlic if temperatures stay above 15°f. I never buy over price seed garlic, Walmart garlic grows very large garlic. Garlic needs lots of nitrogen in fall same as onions the first 6 weeks to grow as many green leaves as possible. Each leaf is a clove. If you can grow 12 leaves bulbs will have 12 cloves. Spring fertilizer us lots of P & K to grow very large cloves. I use 0-20-20 for garlic and onions in spring.

I also learned magnet north on a compass is the wrong way to calculate solar 12 noon. Magnetic north is 23.5° from true north. Best way to learn solar 12 noon at your house is do Google search for, sunrise & sunset at your zip code. Google shows, sunrise & sunset at 37129 is 7:03 am & 5:57 pm that puts solar 12 noon at 12:30 pm at my house. Next spring I will plant my tomato plants in row 18 a little bit more sun and shade tree needs to block sun when temperature is above 90°f. Now that the big tree is gone garden will get more indirect sunlight.

[applestar]

I think with your windy conditions, a caterpillar tunnel design with zigzag straps that secure the roof to deep ground stakes or to hardware attachment to the deeply buried hoop anchors would be more optimal.

There are kits available with everything you need and instructions, or you could assemble your own including bending the hoops.

Heres a reference screenshot —

[Gary350]

Today I covered my 98 garlic 8" deep with 20 gallons of dry sawdust. A month ago it looked like about 65 garlic have survived. TV says it will be 1° Wed morning I'm not taking any chances I hope to keep garlic from freezing. It is still snowing we have 3". 1 more month it will be time to plant onions.

Applestar, I have the stuff to build a poly tunnel but not sure I can keep it from blowing away. Soil inside will be dry as desert with no rain inside the tunnel. Mother nature is not easy to deal with.