I want to grow my own garlic. Any suggestions? moderator's note: added a more descriptive title to topic
Funny you should ask, I was just reading an article about growing Garlic last night. It should be planted in the fall or early winter after the first frost, when the soil is cool. Loosen the soil to at least 12 inches deep, break the bulbs into cloves just before planting and plant them 4 inches deep, 6-8 inches apart....pointy ends up. In early to midsummer you can begin harvesting when about 1/3rd of the leaves have started dying off. Lay the whole plant in a dry, airy place out of direct sun and protected from rain, let them dry for at least a week then brush the soil off and clip the roots. Wait another week before clipping off the stems.
Fall garlic is, in my opinion, far superior to spring. But as you are in Florida, spring is less than 3 months away. You can grow spring garlic soon and try fall garlic later if you would like. I really don't know how much the freezing of fall garlic has to do with taste, but I would bet it's important. Give it a try and see. For spring garlic I know of Italian Late, California white and Elephant. I have not tried all of these so don't want say one is better than another. Maybe someone else here would make a suggestion for you. Ruth
Raising Garlic Can you plant garlic cloves from those purchased in a grocery store or do you need cloves specifically for planting rather than eating?
Sorry herbfan3, need to borrow your topic space a little because I would like to try planting garlic next year too but I live in a different climatic zone. Just want to know whether it is possible to plant garlic in a tropical climate area sunny year round with occassional rain and temp. of 27~34 Centigrade. From what I understand if temperature is too hot it would not form bulbs and I have never seen locally grown garlic before.
Growing Garlic In Warmer Climes I recently planted a row of garlic here just south of Frostproof, Florida. They appear to be growing beautifully but I don't know yet what they will produce in the way of cloves. I'll keep you posted.
Re: Raising Garlic You can..but it is recommended that you plant "horticultural"grade garlic bulbs instead (from a garden center/gardening catolog because the ones you get at the local market have been treated) I planted some from the market a couple of years ago..but think I planted them the wrong time of year (Mushy)but I was just playin
Re: Raising Garlic yes! you can plant those from the grocery store. i have done so in the past, many times, and they did very well. one thing to do is look for an already sprouting bulb...little bits of green on the top of the cloves. i prefer planting our garlic in the fall, too. usually October or November. but, they can be planted in early spring also, it just creates smaller bulbs. good luck!
Planting Garlic Hope I didn't mess up. I tried planting cloves about 3 inches deep and nothing happened so I tried just sticking them in the ground so that half the clove was above ground and they took off like crazy. I live in a semi-tropical area just south of Frostproof, Florida so maybe that makes a difference but so far so good. Now I have not harvested anything yet but hopefully time will tell.
that's great if they're doing well herbfan! very clever of you. i hve never heard of planting them half-way into the soil. we have frost and snow here, so we plant about 2-4 inches deep, and they don't come up till spring when the snow melts.
Bunkie, I can see why everyone in Ohio seems to be moving to Florida. My garlic plants are nice and green right now. 8)
hey herbfan, quit braggin'! no, keep bragging! i love seeing those pics of nice green things in the dead of winter!
Don't quit bragging herbfan I am with you I really do want to know how much bulbs you can collect ...... by around March??
