Planting Next Year's Garlic Crop

December 7, 2020

It’s so busy at my Bedford, New York farm. My outdoor grounds crew is working off a long list of important autumn tasks, which includes planting our next crop of garlic.

Although garlic can be planted in the spring as soon as the ground can be worked, fall planting is recommended for most gardeners. This allows extra time for the bulbs to grow and become more flavorful for the summer harvest. Every year, we plant a lot of garlic from Keene Organics, a family owned farm in Wisconsin that sells certified organic and naturally grown gourmet bulbs for both eating and planting. Garlic is great for cooking and very good for your health. It is well known to lower blood pressure and cholesterol, and carries many antioxidant properties. Knowing that I also grow the garlic myself makes it even more special.

Here are some photos.

: It’s always very exciting to get a delivery from Keene Organics filled with a variety of garlic bulbs for my garden. I have been planting Keene Organics garlic for several years, and am always so pleased with their growth and taste. We got our delivery earlier this fall and planted the garlic in November – it’s always one of the last crops we plant before winter.

: When planting garlic, look for the largest most robust bulbs. There are always about three or four bulbs in each netted pack, and each bulb contains at least four to six cloves – some even more. Some of this year’s varieties include Russian Red, Amish Rocambole, Northern White – Porcelain, Pehoski Purple, Transylvanian Softneck, Georgian Fire – Porcelain, and Chesnok Red – Purple Stripe. In all about 25 different types.

: Ryan prepares the garlic for planting – each bulb is carefully broken to separate all the cloves and then the cloves are grouped together and placed in berry boxes along with a proper marker. For the best results, plant the largest cloves from each bulb and save the smaller ones for eating.

: Meanwhile, here is where the garlic will be planted – in a bed behind my main greenhouse. Here, Domi removes one of several old currant bushes to make room for the garlic. This bed has been used for various plantings over the years – filbert trees and blackberry bushes were also once planted in this bed.

: All my garden beds are amended every year with compost made right here at the farm. If you are not sure what amendments your garden soil may need, test it. Kits are available at garden supply stores. Once you have the results, you’ll know how to amend it properly.

: Next, Pasang turns the soil, removing any leftover pieces of debris. He does this along the entire bed, turning it at least six to eight inches deep.

: Cultivating accomplishes two things: removing any weeds from the garden bed and loosening the soil to optimize the retention and penetration of air, water and nutrients for the plants.

: Triple superphosphate is a highly concentrated phosphorus fertilizer that contains inorganic nutrients used to restore soil components and increase root development.

: Ryan applies a good amount of triple superphosphate to the bed. When preparing the soil, be sure it has a good balance of organic matter, compost, manure and fertilizer.

: Using a hard rake, Pasang smoothes out the soil to tidy the bed and mix in the fertilizer.

: Building up the soil is the most important part of preparing a garden for growing vegetables and flowers. A deep, organically rich soil will encourage and support the growth of healthy root systems. It is now ready to be planted with our next crop of garlic.

: To make sure all the cloves are spaced evenly, Phurba uses pieces of wood to measure out where the garlic will be planted. Doing this creates straight, pretty rows, but it is also important to give each clove enough room to grow and develop. They should be planted at least several inches from each other.

: All the containers filled with garlic are brought outside – each one with a garden marker listing its garlic variety. We used a label maker for these labels, so the ink doesn’t wash off during the cold season and the markers can be re-used after harvesting,

: As the rows are made, Ryan positions each clove. When planting multiple rows of garlic, be sure the rows are at least one-foot apart.

: These garlic cloves are well spaced. Before planting, they can also be soaked in fish emulsion to give them a fertilizer boost and rid them of possible diseases, which could have been carried by the garlic.