garlic

ok, i would like to plant some garlic (with the rest of my garden [tomatoes, carrots, onions, lettuce, mics. herbs, bush beans, brocolli, cauliflower, cukes, radishes, cabbage, mustard greens and corn]i live in Florida, land of the year round garden) and i haven't a clue on how to start

i do have a bulb i picked up from the grocery..can i just nab a clove off and get it in some water?

what is the official process for growing garlic?

Reply to
joe s
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I planted the toes 8 years ago and they still come up green in the winter and die off in the (hot) summer. Never harvested it though, just grew it solely as a companion plant for my roses. Plant the toes directly in the ground. They like cool weather.

Reply to
Phisherman

"joe s" wrote in news:ycclb.1529$ snipped-for-privacy@twister.tampabay.rr.com:

supposedly some grocery store garlic is treated with a 'sprouting' inhibitor, but if yours has a green growth, then you should be good to go. I just put some nice non-dried out cloves in some dirt and they grew fine. I also haven't harvested it, it's just hanging out with my tomatoes. (SE Virginia).

I don't know what a 'toe' is.

- S

Reply to
Salty Thumb

Optimum sprouting temperature for garlic is 40F, so after you get your garden cleaned up just plant the cloves. They will develop roots this fall, then when the ground freezes (assuming you're in one of those zones) they will go dormant. It's OK if they freeze, but to avoid having the freeze/thaw cycles heave them out of the ground, mulch them.

You can plant garlic in the spring, but if it gets a head start from a fall planting the heads will be larger.

The leaves are flat. About a month or two after they start growing they will send up a flower stalk (around June in MA). It's round, so you can tell it from a leaf. Break it off or it will inhibit bulb development. You can chop up the flower stalk for cooking.

When the leaves are about 30-50% brown (late July in MA), dig up the heads and place them somewhere to dry. Too much sunlight will make them turn green (like potatoes), but some sunlight will keep mildew from forming. If the heads grow too long in the ground the paper will split and you will get dirt into the heads. Not a real problem except you have to spend more time cleaning the garlic for food preparation and they don't look as good.

Like all the alliums, garlic is a heavy feeder. Give it lots of fertilizer and keep it watered well if the weather gets dry.

Reply to
Dwight Sipler

A friend gave me a sampler of garlics that she got when she attended a garlic festival. The instructions that came with them are pretty much as you describe except that it says no water after June 1.

John

Reply to
John Bachman

Some garlic is harder than others so it depends on what zone you live in and what zone the garlic you purchased was grown. The garlic is worth a try. In zone 4 we plant it after the first frost. I plant it as deep as I can get it with my finger. Harvest next fall when the plants starts to turn brown. Good luck

Gary

Reply to
gary

Not sure about your region, but I live in Texas Zone 8b with mild winters, ground never freezes and I have success with California Early and Morado Gigante. Bulbs from the grocery store are usually California Early, but they may treat them to prevent or help delay sprouting during storage.

It's best to buy bulbs with the largest cloves you can find.

Victoria

Reply to
animaux

Do a websearch for "growing garlic" or something like that. There's a place in Texas that sells seed garlic that will grow well down south. (I lost the bookmark when my good computer had a stroke.) They have instructions how to grow it, recipes, t-shirts, etc. on that website. I can't, for the life of me, remember the name of that co.

Jan

Reply to
Jan Flora

You don't have to soak the cloves in water. Prepare a spot in your garden and plant the individual cloves with the flat end down as deep as your second finger knuckle. Cover over with a 2 inch layer of dry grass clippings, water when ever you feel like it and you will see green shoots in about a week or so. Let grow until early summer when all the garlic leaves are brown except for 3 or 4 and then dig them up. Wash off the dirt and hang in a dry, shady, airy place until the skins are dry and papery. Garlic from the grocery store works OK, maybe not as well as the varieties from a seed source selected for your area, but a heck of a lot cheaper. Very easy to grow.

Bill

Reply to
Bill Bolle

Softneck varieties will be best for your area. They have lots of flaky skin, and usually many small cloves. Stiffneck varieites are mostly planted in colder areas. They have larger, fewer cloves but the skin is thin, so many people say they don't store well (I deny this allegation...stiffnecks store extremely well as long as they're dried out). Never wash garlic to clean it (this will certainly attract mold). Simply peel the dirty outer layer to gain a clean bulb.

It might have growth inhibitors, which will make it a pain in the neck (a stiff-neck? hehe :) ). Buy from a local organic grower or order form a catalog. Get bulbs, dont get seeds.

Depends on where you live. Warm climates are good for softneck varieties (think Gilroy, CA)...those can be planted in the spring or just about any time of year. Colder areas (where the ground freezes) need to plant stiffneck varieties in the fall. To harvest big bulbs requires lots of everything....lots of soil nutrients, lots of sun, and lots of water (more water makes weaker but bigger bulbs)

Dan

Reply to
dstvns

That's how we do it in N.Y. We have a Garlic festival in the Hudson Valley every year. I've yet to go to one though. I've been growing a little for the past 5 years. Usually around 25 plants a year on average. Takes up a 1 X 4 foot space. I plant 2-3 inches apart and 2 inches deep.

Reply to
Tom Randy

wow! thnx for all the info!...i will be getting right on it tonight probably :)

Reply to
joe s

check out

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I bought some elephant garlic & also korean garlic to plant this year. The former's cloves are bigger than most bulbs I have EVER seen. Love Caryn "Come into my garden, my flowers want to meet you!"

Reply to
NAearthMOM

Elephant garlic is, of course, a different species, Allium ampeloprasum. To quote from

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Elephant garlic is less pungent, but contains a pleasing delicate "garlic" flavor that makes it ideal for use in fresh salads, casseroles, etc.

Reply to
Andrew Ostrander

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