How To Plant Garlic For Beginners!

Until a few years ago I had never even considered growing my own garlic at home. I had always just bought garlic bulbs at the grocery store or at a farmers market.

Each year I keep getting braver and braver and try to grow things that I have not tried before. Do I have success each time? No way!! The amazing thing I have found is by me trying new things and sharing my experiences, I have inspired other people to try too! Each year I gain more and more knowledge and learn how I might try to do things differently the following year.

Planting hardneck garlic is really not complicated at all. In Ontario, hardneck garlic is planted in the fall and harvested the following July. The biggest downfall would be waiting for your garlic to be ready to harvest. You do need a little bit of patience. Good things are worth waiting for, right?

If you have never grown garlic before you need to purchase ¨seed garlic¨ from either a local garlic farm or farmers market. DO NOT buy garlic bulbs at the grocery store and plant those. Garlic bulbs you purchase at the grocery store are typically imported from other countries and have often been treated with chemicals that prevent the garlic from sprouting/growing. You would be disappointed if your garlic did not grow!

Pick a sunny location!

You need to look at your property and decide where the most suitable location would be to plant your garlic. You need to pick a nice sunny location. If possible, pick a dry area that faces south. If the area has not been worked before you need to till the ground and remove any weeds or grass. Add some compost and manure and till the area again.

To save yourself a lot of time, a day or two before planting split your garlic so your cloves are ready to plant. You can store the cloves in a paper bag or basket until you are ready to plant them.

Now for the fun part! Planting time!

When planting garlic I have had the most success by planting my garlic 6 inches apart in all directions. My rows are 6 inches apart and the cloves themselves are 6 inches apart. I made a handy little board to help me with spacing. The cloves themselves are planted 2 inches deep into the ground with the pointy side pointing towards the sky. Just remember not all your cloves are the same size so keep that in mind when you are planting your cloves.

MY GARDEN NOTEPAD!

Now you are on the home stretch! Lightly cover your garlic cloves with soil so the cloves are completely covered. Last but not least, you need to cover your new garlic patch with leaves or straw. I use leaves because we have lots and they are free! You need to put quite a thick layer of leaves on your garlic patch. Some leaves will blow away. The leaves act as an insulator for the garlic over the winter months. That is it! Your garlic is tucked away cozy for the winter!

Check out this video so you can see exactly what to do! Definitely some helpful PLANTING TIPS!

Do you want to know the secret of growing BIGGER garlic bulbs? Check out this video!

Learning to grow your own food is actually quite amazing! The more you try the better you will get. In our busy world it is nice to take some time to enjoy the outdoors and get your hands dirty. Come harvest time all your hard work will be worth it!

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