How to Plant Winter Garlic
Garlic, the zesty herb that grows as an underground bulb, doesn't do well in the heat of summer. Put it in the garden to grow during winter, though, and eat your reward with plump, full cloves of garlic to season your summer salsa and barbecue meals. A plant-and-leave favorite for busy homeowners with little time for fussy gardening chores, winter-grown garlic doesn't crowd your schedule with weeding and watering. Economy-minded gardeners appreciate that each clove of garlic planted for winter growing yields up to 10 times the original volume of tasty, long-lasting garlic bulbs. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Prepare the soil in your winter garlic bed a week or two before the first projected frost date in your area. Choose a well-drained area of the yard that isn't soggy and puddle-filled during wet winter weather.
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Turn the dirt over with a shovel, removing rocks, weeds, roots and any other debris from the garlic bed. Prepare 2 square feet of space for each bulb of garlic -- about six to eight cloves.
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Spread a 2-inch layer of compost on top of the garlic bed. Dig the compost into the soil, turning the dirt over two to three times to evenly mix the components.
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Remove the outer layer of papery, white or light-brown skin from the garlic bulb, taking care not to damage the skin that is firmly attached to the individual cloves.
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Pull each garlic clove away from the main bulb by hand. Set aside the smaller cloves at the center of the bulb to use for cooking. Check the larger cloves to ensure that each one has a small portion of root end attached.
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Poke 1- to 2-inch deep holes, spaced four to six inches apart, into the garlic bed with your finger or the handle of a trowel. If you are planting in rows, allow 18 to 24 inches between each row for easier cultivation in the spring.
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Place one clove of garlic in each hole, root side down and pointy end up. Cover the cloves with soil and tamp down firmly.
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Water the newly planted garlic bed promptly. Continue watering the bed sufficiently to keep it moist for several weeks, until the first freeze of winter is predicted.
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Cover the planted garlic bed with a 4- to 6-inch layer of straw or mixed straw and dried leaf mulch. Add the mulch before the first freeze to prevent the ground from heaving through winter's freeze and thaw cycles.
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Tips & Warnings
Plant hardneck garlic varieties for their attractive spring foliage and savory bulbs, which may be stored for up to six months after an early summer harvest.
Plant softneck garlic for longer storage -- up to nine months -- and to make garlic braids with the softer stems.
Do not plant garlic purchased from the grocery store, as it may have been treated to inhibit sprouting.
References
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