Planting & Growing Garlic this Fall

Garlic planting time is here! –– October, November & even December.  
Fall is the time to plant this member of the lily family.  According to Paul Trader of the Cooperative Extension, plant in October, about a month before frost is in the ground.  This allows the cloves plenty of time to develop a large root system before winter sets in and ensures the garlic receives the necessary period of cold in its early development for proper formation of the cloves.

For biodynamic gardeners you may wish to wait.  Joan plants her garlic by this method – on the waning of the first full moon after the first killing frost. Upcoming full moons in 2020: Nov 1 & 30, Dec 30.

Some gardeners plant in the spring, but the heads will be smaller.

Rocambole Garlic Head

Which kind of garlic to plant?   Allium Sativium Sativium or Allium Sativium Ophioscorodon?   Soft-necked or Hard-necked?
Soft-neck garlic has more cloves than hard-neck but they are smaller.  They also tend to keep longer and are the kind you can braid.  Rocambole is a favorite hard-neck in this area.  Garlic cultivars have subtly different flavors.  Rocambole is described as "having the most earthy and musty flavor and usually a lot of heat, but storing the shortest time."

The Farmer's Markets may still have some Rocambole garlic left, but the best pickings are in July when the harvest comes in.  In the spring the hard-necks will send up a scape which you can harvest and eat (try stir frying).  If you decide to grow the longer keeping soft-neck, try the organic ones at Organica in Northvale.  The garlic in most supermarkets is sprayed with an anti-sprouting agent and may not grow as well.  Do not store your planting garlic in the fridge or they can become nubby and rough, and in an overly warm spot they may begin to sprout.

See the following for more info on the kinds of garlic.  Scroll down the page to see a description of Rocambole and 2 other hard-neck varieties, 5 varieties of soft-neck as well as Elephant garlic:  The Garlic Story & a Description of Different Kinds & Varieties

Preparing the garlic bed
The key to great garlic in size and shape as well as flavor, is planting time and soil preparation.  Choose a place that gets full sun and remember the garlic will be there until about July 5 of next year or longer.  Incorporate well-composted manure into the soil.

The soil should be enhanced with potassium in a form readily available to hungry young bulbs that need to establish themselves rapidly before winter.  The best source of quick potassium is greensand.  Leaf mulch is also a good source of potassium and will be released slowly to help garlic bulbs through the winter and into next spring.  Add a pinch of bonemeal to the bottom of the planting hole or trench will help the cloves produce strong root systems.  If you don't have bonemeal, sprinkle Espoma's Bulb-tone in each planting hole. It also contains greensand and can be purchased at many nurseries.

How to plant
Whichever garlic you decide to plant and whichever time you actually plant it, do not separate the cloves from the head until you actually start planting them or at least no longer than a day or two ahead. Otherwise, they may dry out and not be as viable.  Each bulb planted will produce a head.  Choose the largest and best bulbs for the largest and healthiest heads next summer and use the rest in cooking. Take the whole head of seed garlic and very carefully break it apart without bruising the cloves or damaging the root end.  Be careful to keep the papery skins covering each clove intact.

Space individual cloves 3" to 6" apart.  You could plant about 20 cloves by staggering them – in the 2nd row each clove is planted between the cloves in the first row.  Plant the garlic root-side down and deep enough so there is about 2" of soil covering the pointy tip of the clove.  Cover with soil and water in well to start the sprouting and rooting process.  You may wish to topdress after planting with more composted manure.  Consider mulching the bed after a good freeze with straw or leaves to protect the soil and keep the garlic from heaving out.  The mulch will also serve you in the spring by keeping the weeds down.  Garlic hates to have weeds growing around its feet.

Cornell has warned about an outbreak of Bloat Nematode in NY, discovered on garlic in 2010.  Download Cornell's Management Guidelines as well as their article on Bloat Nematode on Garlic to learn more about it and how to recognize and test for it.

Now after planting, enjoy the quiet of the Garden's Wintertime. Nature will do the rest.
Updated Nov 10, 2020