How to Plant Garlic to Grow Scapes

Garlic scapes are used in soups, salads and stir fries.

Scapes are the immature stalks that grow from the hardneck variety of garlic. When they first emerge from the ground, these stalks grow in a circle. They can be cut from the plant and then used in soups, stir fries or salads. When scapes are ground up, they can accompany basil in pesto recipes. Varieties of hardneck garlic that produce scapes include German Extra Hardy, Russian Red, Killarney Red and Montana Giant. Softneck varieties of garlic are not as suitable for growing scapes.

Things You'll Need

• Hardneck garlic bulbs
• Compost or manure
• Straw or mulch
• Garden trowel
• Shovel

Instructions

1. Plant garlic in the fall--around mid-October--in a planting site that has good drainage. Work compost or well-rotted manure into the soil.

2. Separate the hardneck garlic cloves from the bulb and place them in the soil pointed side up about 2 to 4 inches deep. Space them about 6 to 8 inches apart. If you are planting more than one row, keep the rows about 1 to 2 feet apart.

3. Add at least 6 inches of straw or mulch to the planting bed before the extreme cold winter weather hits.

4. Look for the green tips of the scapes to poke through the mulch in the early spring as the ground begins to thaw. Gently pull the straw or mulch away from the emerging scapes in order to facilitate their growth as the temperatures begin to warm up. Remove the scapes as needed for cooking. The leaves will begin to die off as the weather becomes hotter and drier. When there are few scapes left in the hotter months of the summer, that means the garlic bulbs are ready to be harvested.

References

• Cornell University Cooperative Extension: It Is Time to Plant Garlic
• University of Maine Cooperative Extension: Plant Garlic Now for a Bountiful Harvest Next July!