How to Plant Garlic Shoots
Fresh garlic shoots are a delicious and healthy part of many recipes. Garlic is an easy addition to any vegetable garden and is available in two varieties. Hard necked garlic is often characterized as more flavorful but has a shorter storage life than soft necked garlic plants. Only hard neck varieties have flowering shoots or scapes. Almost any garlic clove can be planted, but for the best shoot results source proper hard neck seed garlic bulbs from a local garden center or seed store and seek their advice for the proper seeding time for your climate. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Seed garlic bulbs
- Garden mulch
- Potting tools
- Small garden plot or flower pot containers
Instructions
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Planting time is important.
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Choose your planting time. In most climates a mid to late fall planting works well. This gives the garlic time to establish a root system before the colder weather arrives, and will be ready to flourish in spring. Don't be alarmed if the late fall planting shows no visible shoots until the next spring. Extremely wet or cold climate may necessitate an early spring planting. It is very important to source the right seed garlic and planting time for your climate. Consult a local garden center for best results.
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Prepare the soil. Garlic is not very picky about soil conditions, but sunlight and good drainage is vital. For an existing garden bed, a light digging and mulching will suffice. A new plot will require a little more work. Garlic also thrives in containers. A good mulch or potting compost is all that's needed.
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Plant the cloves. Don't split the bulbs until you are ready to plant to prevent them drying out. Plant each clove a few inches below the surface, with the pointed end facing up. Spacing between the cloves will determine the harvest bulb size. Six inches of separation will generally provide a nice harvest of medium sized bulbs.
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Watch and wait. Growing garlic requires very little maintenance. The hardest part is waiting months for the harvest. Some light weeding will probably be necessary and be careful not to over water. Don't water much after planting unless conditions are very dry.
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Harvest the garlic shoots. As flowering garlic shoots, also called scapes, began to appear in late spring and early summer, trim them off and enjoy. These are not only tasty, but removing them promotes bulb growth.
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Harvest the garlic bulbs. Although garlic bulbs can be harvested whenever they are large enough, when the leaves begin to yellow and die, it is time to harvest all the bulbs. Dig them up with a garden fork and let them cure in the sun for a few days to dry out. In wet weather this can be done inside. When the skins are paper like, the bulbs are ready to be used or stored. Be sure and save some for next year's crop.
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Tips & Warnings
Garlic likes acidic soil so you can optionally sprinkle each planted clove with a small scoop of coffee grounds before covering with soil and mulch.
Garlic is prone to the same kinds of diseases as leeks and onions.To prevent the disease buildup in the soil, plant garlic in a new location each year, replanting a spot only after three years or more.
