Planting Garlic

Garlic is best planted in Fall; late September/early October is ideal for the Prince George region. That said, garlic can be planted later, as long as the soil can be worked.

Garlic is an easy crop to grow in reasonably fertile, well drained soil.  Garlic can be grown in the ground or in large raised beds (4’ x 4’ is usually big enough so that the bulbs don’t freeze). Mix compost into the soil at planting time for added fertility if needed.

Tips:

• Plant garlic in rows, or interplant it into your flower beds. Each plant requires very little space (4-6” of space only)
  
  
• Break up garlic bulbs into cloves just before planting time
  
  
• Space cloves 4” apart (10 cm) and 4” (10 cm) deep with the pointy end up
  
  
• In most cases, watering the bulbs at planting time is not necessary. Garlic may rot in wet soils
  
  

Harvesting Garlic

In early-mid summer, the bulb will send up a spiral shaped flower stalk called a scape. The scapes can be harvested and used for pesto, garlic scape butter, hummus, stir fries and soups.

Garlic bulbs are harvested later. Towards the end of summer, keep the garlic plants on the dry side. Harvest the garlic bulbs when the tops start to die back but before all of the leaves go brown. Pulling on the stem to harvest often won’t work. Instead, carefully dig up the bulb with your hands and/or tools, leaving the stem intact. Be careful not to pierce cloves with your spade or fork, as cut bulbs do not store well. Use any damaged bulbs first.

Dry the bulbs in a cool, dark place, turning over the bulbs every 3-5 days. In a couple weeks when bulbs are fully dry, the stems can be cut back to a few inches tall. Remove loose dirt with a toothbrush or something similar. Store cured garlic in a cool, dry location. The biggest cloves can be saved for replanting in the fall if desired.