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Planting and growing garlic |
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TasunkaWitko
Admin Group Joined: 25 January 2010 Location: Chinook, MT Status: Offline Points: 9356 |
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Posted: 11 October 2018 at 10:22 |
I recently received the Chesnok Red Garlic that I ordered from https://www.seedsavers.org:
https://www.seedsavers.org/chesnok-red-organic-garlic It looks great, and I can't wait to see how it does next year. The garlic arrived with a helpful planting guide. You can access that guide online by following this link: https://www.seedsavers.org/site/pdf/Garlic_GrowingGuide.pdf Seed Savers also ahs an abbreviated version of the guide that you can find here: https://www.seedsavers.org/grow-garlic Here are some highlights:
By the looks of it, the timing of some of the instructions (discontinuing watering, harvest etc.) will depend on that latitude and/or climate in which you live. Hope this helps - if anyone has anything to add, or has any questions, please be sure to post them here. Ron |
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ddufore
Scullery Servant Joined: 29 November 2018 Location: Very northern N Status: Offline Points: 10 |
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I have planted this variety along with 4 others for the last 5 years. It’s a keeper.
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HistoricFoodie
Admin Group Joined: 21 February 2012 Location: Kentucky Status: Offline Points: 4940 |
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Welcome to our little corner of the culinary world, Dan.
We are a diverse group, with members ranging from raw beginners to seasoned professionals. What we have in common is a love of food, cooking, culinary history, and the cultural influences that make them what they are. Don't hesitate to jump right in on existing threads, or start one or three of your own. A good place to start is the Members Lounge forum, where you can tell us a little about yourself and your culinary interests. We hope to hear more from you.
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But we hae meat and we can eat
And sae the Lord be thanket |
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HistoricFoodie
Admin Group Joined: 21 February 2012 Location: Kentucky Status: Offline Points: 4940 |
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That's a pretty good summary of garlic growing, Ron. As always, however, their are nuances.
Forget that "die back" phrase, for instance. What happens, as the plant starts to devote most of its energy to bulb formation, is that the leaves start to change color, turning from green to a sort of yellowish straw. When about half of them have changed, lift the bulbs. Almost every set of instructions I've ever read makes a point of not washing the bulbs. Nonsense! No, you don't want to soak them. But swishing them around in a pail of water, and then hanging, gets rid of most of the dirt that adheres. This is less important when you have loamy soil. But if, as here, you have heavy clay, you want to get rid of as much of it as you can. Something not mentioned: Softneck varieties should not be trimmed. Instead, braid the leaves and hang them that way. This makes a beautiful presentation in the kitchen. But, more importantly, it prolongs the shelf-life of the bulbs, which are notoriously shorter with softnecks than hardnecks. The return on investment with garlic is nothing short of incredible. I once did a breakdown for an on-line friend, who though 15 bucks a pound was outrageous. Turns out, by the third year (with certain assumptions), hardneck garlics cost something like .003 cents per bulb. To me, that makes the purchase price inconsequential. Another trick: Commercial garlic suppliers fill orders on a first-come, first-served basis. Which means if you order in the spring, for fall delivery, you have a better chance at receiving the cream of the crop. We can talk more about this if you like.
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But we hae meat and we can eat
And sae the Lord be thanket |
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TasunkaWitko
Admin Group Joined: 25 January 2010 Location: Chinook, MT Status: Offline Points: 9356 |
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Indeed, Brook - please do feel free to post as much as you'd like on the subject. If I do even half as well growing with this project as I hope to, I intend to learn more and expand a bit on it.
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HistoricFoodie
Admin Group Joined: 21 February 2012 Location: Kentucky Status: Offline Points: 4940 |
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One nice thing about growing garlic is that there's lots of room for experimentation. It is, in actuality, very low maintainance.
I do question SSE's spacing. Six to eight inches is nearly twice what's needed. If you plant the cloves on 4-inch centers that's plenty of room. One trick is to use wood lattice panels. Lay one down (or half of one, whatever) and plant a clove in the center of each opening. Perfect spacing, and the panel helps as a mulch, keeping weeds down. Unstated, above, is the fact that scapes are a gourmet treat in their own right. Don't worry about measuring them (ten inches indeed!). As they appear they will first be straight, like spears. They'll then curl, and, eventually, start to straighten out again. That's the time to harvest them. On the other side of the growing season, don't forget green garlic, one of the great culinary delights of spring. FWIW, rather than rows I prefer planting garlic in blocks. That's one reason for the lattice. But, so long as you maintain the 4-5 inch spacing, you can lay out the blocks however your fancy dictates. |
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But we hae meat and we can eat
And sae the Lord be thanket |
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HistoricFoodie
Admin Group Joined: 21 February 2012 Location: Kentucky Status: Offline Points: 4940 |
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BTW, here's how I determined the high return on investment. Using hardnecks, there are, on average, 10 cloves per head, and six heads per pound. Assuming you replant the entire crop, and get 100% harvest (not unusual with garlic), the math is simple. At the time, "gourmet" garlic was $15/pound. So let's use that figure.
So, we're starting with $1.50 per head First year you plant 60 cloves, and harvest 60 heads. That drops the cost to 25 cents per. If you replant all of them, you'll have 600 cloves the second year, or 2.5 cents per head in the fall. Continue like that and you see how incredible the return on investment is. Of course, you won't be replanting the whole crop. You are, after all, growing it to cook with. But it gives you the idea of who cheap home-grown garlic (or any alliums, for that matter) can be. And don't forget: Because you are cloning them, you can plant different garlics fairly close together, with no chance of crossing. I separate blocks by two feet, for no other reason than it provides me access paths between blocks.
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But we hae meat and we can eat
And sae the Lord be thanket |
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TasunkaWitko
Admin Group Joined: 25 January 2010 Location: Chinook, MT Status: Offline Points: 9356 |
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I received this addendum from Brook, a while ago:
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