Ah, inflation.
No, no. I haven’t lost my mind (yet).
You see, with the rise of prices, so have I come to realize that many things are simply easier to do on my own. Tomatoes? I’m canning those rather than paying $2 for something that will cost me far less. And you know what pairs beautifully with tomatoes?
Garlic.
There is no reason now, nor has there ever been, to purchase garlic beyond your first bulb. This, of course, does not count for bulbs bought in grocery stores.
No, I’m talking about the kind of garlic that you get to see or that you’ve gotten direct from the farm and is organic. It need not remain so, but it does need to start off like that if you want to grow from the bulb.
Today, we’ll look at how you can save a little extra money and have constant, fresh garlic at your disposal. Let’s get started.
Growing Garlic Is Easy
I plant garlic in the fall, ideally in early October in the Savannah, GA area. Adjust as necessary for your own temperatures. Someone in Maine is certainly planting earlier; perhaps even in late August.
Settle in with a 4’x2′ plot of land (or potting or raised area, we’re all for container gardening here!). Draw furrows about 1/2″ deep and plant your garlic cloves at least 3″ apart. Many types of garlic will say that they can be planted closer, but over the years I’ve noticed that planting garlic any closer may end up with bulbs growing together when they become extremely large.
If you don’t have enough space in your garden or if your apartment has a balcony, you might consider building a vertical garden. You can pack all this garlic — and even more plants — right into the wall-suspended garden. It’s perfect for having everything you need right next to you or for stocking up and getting prepared for whatever’s coming.
Gently scoop soil over your cloves. Water them lightly. Just enough to keep them moist. And when the cold steps in, add mulch and only water when you must. Garlic requires very little assistance through the cold months and primarily remains dormant at this point.
Related: Why You Need to Put Newspapers in Your Vegetable Garden
Once the world thaws, remember that you’ll be watering your garlic every now and again. Garlic doesn’t like it soaked, but it does need a little fertilizer (10-5-10 is fine) and some maintenance to grow. Very little preys on garlic as well, the scent is too much for most predatory insects.
If desired, you may trim the ends of the scapes (the green shoots) and enjoy them in stir-fries and such throughout the growing season. Allow at least 4″ of scapes at all times.
Harvesting Garlic Is a Little Harder
Most garlic is harvested during the peak of summer. For me, that’s just about the same time we’re spreading out a picnic blanket and watching the fireworks go off (early July). For some others, especially those with shorter growing seasons, you may nearly be planting as soon as you’re harvesting. Or it may never quite get as dry as you require.
If this happens, simply stop watering once your garlic has been in the ground just about for 9 months or so.
If you see your scapes starting to yellow and wilt, that means your garlic is finishing growing. It no longer requires nutrition, so it allows that part of the plant to start dying off.
With some varieties, you may also simply see yellowing right at the area that meets the ground. It strongly depends on the moisture content of your soil and your particular variety, so keep that in mind!
You can learn here an easy way to test soil the way pioneers did, if you want to make sure your crops get all the necessary nutrients.
Once your yellowing starts, pull one bulb up and see what’s going on. It is well-formed? Are the cloves tightly clustered? It looks like what you want it to look like? Pull another few. If they all appear to be in good shape, you need to start harvesting. If one or two are not quite to size, it won’t hurt to leave them in the ground a little longer.
Remember, when you harvest your garlic you should not introduce moisture to the bulb itself. And, best of all, you can eat every bit of the stalks if you want to. Personally, I love them for garnish in eggplant parmesan rather than basil.
Storing Garlic Is as Simple as It Gets
All you need is somewhere dry and relatively cool that can stand up to the delicious smell of drying garlic.
Brush the soil from your garlic as best you can. Remember to save several bulbs to plant again in the fall. If you will be planting soon after harvesting, remember that you do not have to dry your garlic to plant it.
String your garlic up by the yellowed ends and allow it to hang in an approximately 50-55 F-degree dry area for a minimum of 2 weeks.
At this point, I recommend peeling a bulb or two to check them. The cloves should be shiny and hard, with no hint of mold or mildew.
If this is the case, well done. You’ll save a lot on your garlic bill. You simply rinse and repeat this procedure until you get tired of garlic (what? is this possible?) or you decide that you don’t need to grow garlic that year.
Medicinal Uses
Garlic isn’t just great for cooking; it also has a long-standing reputation for its medicinal properties. It is known for its strong anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and antimicrobial effects. It can help boost the immune system, lower blood pressure, combat infections and even improve cholesterol levels.
For an even greater respiratory health boost, consider pairing garlic with Bronchial Blend Tincture. This tincture features ingredients like lungwort lichen and mullein, known for their ability to soothe respiratory inflammation and clear lung congestion. Adding both garlic and this powerful tincture to your health routine can help boost your body’s defenses, especially when winter rolls around.
Most garlic crops will keep from one year until the next, easily sitting on shelves from their harvest point in July(ish) until the following summer, assuming that they are maintained in a dry environment. I realize this may be difficult for some in very moist climates.
Therefore, my suggestion for those in humid conditions is to fully clean their dried garlic and do one of two things: put it in the dehydrator and make a ton of garlic powder/dried garlic or freeze large, chopped batches of it.
You may also consider canning garlic. Pickling, drying, canning, freezing; garlic is very versatile and very abundant. So why are you paying so much for it when it’s so simple to grow yourself?
When fall rolls around this year, I know that I’ll be planting next year’s garlic in the garlic patch. What will you be doing? Leave your comments down below. Talk garlic to us! And, as always, Happy Gardening!
This article was first published on Self-Sufficient Projects.
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We live in SW Florida. No basements. And MOST of the year no temperatures of 50-55 F. Any suggestions on where to hang the garlic?
We see a lot of suggestions on Ask a Prepper that are great sounding, but do not work here. Dig a hole to put a trash barrel in? Not likely. Can we get more suggestions applicable to our area?
It doesn’t have to be that low a temp for drying your garlic. I’ve had great results with normal summertime, non-air conditioned temperatures (I live in SW Pennsylvania) like 80 or 90 degrees. You can either lay it out so that it’s spread out flat where you have good air circulation (which you can create with a fan if you need to) or you can hang it up. If you have an air-conditioned space where you can do this, it would be nice because it would draw some of the moisture out of the air, which would be highly desirable in your area.
I am inferring from some things said in this article that the person who wrote it grows softneck garlic as opposed to hardneck. The former keeps much longer than the latter, but I love the latter much more! With hardneck garlic, you should leave it lying on the ground to dry and cure a couple of days after you harvest. Obviously, you will need to try to harvest when the forecast isn’t showing rain. Then you can bring it in and hang it for drying. Don’t wash it.
With hardneck garlic, as well, you’re supposed to wait until the plant has died back by 1/2 to 2/3 before you harvest. I always harvest the scapes to eat during the summer. In our area, the garlic is ready by early to mid July if planted the previous fall.
Another way to preserve garlic is to ferment it. Here’s a link to an article that might be useful to you. Fermented Garlic
The traditional method is to braid the yellowing ends, adding another end every couple braids until you have it all strung together, then hang the braided strings in your garage or outbuilding.
Garlic is also a natural blood thinner, if you’re on coumadin/warfarin or other blood related medication, consult your Dr. Depending on garlic intake frequency, you may have to adjust dosage to suit.
If you break off the buds at the top of the stalk when they come on in March or so, you will wind up with a much larger bulb, as the plant retrenches itself in preparation for reproducing during the next season. Also, when you pull the garlic, there are usually small seeds left in the soil to seed the next stand, however after the first season you will have an unvariegated bulb. Wait until the next year, and you will have the familiar bulbs broken up into cloves.
I grew elephant garlic for many years, and widely propagated it among my friends and acquaintances.
I’m a good gardener, my garlic patch was looking real pretty last year, then it started to rain, and storm, and rain some more and then storm some more all the way to July. so that even in raised beds garlic, herbs, and taters all drowned. Green beans, tomatoes, and chilis were beat down to the ground. Sweet onions did great! Garden for fun, garden cause you like to cook, but don’t count on a garden as a big part of your food security. I swear I find a new way to kill some dang plant every time I turn around…
What means 10-5-10?
I quote” Garlic doesn’t like it soaked, but it does need a little fertilizer (10-5-10 is fine) and some maintenance to grow. ”
End of quote.
Thank you
It’s the ratio of parts of Nitrogen, Ammonia and Phosphorus, I think. Not sure which order they are in.
That’s right, and the fertilizer will be sold as such designation at your feed store.
I read these articles and think, “I can do that!” Then my husband gives me *that* look and says, “Honey, if you did to patients what you do to plants, they’d take away your nursing license.” Is there ANYTHING that is 100% fool proof? (In this case, I’m the fool.)
A good article! I love growing my own garlic!
When you use the word “scapes” in your article, I believe you’re actually referring to the garlic leaves. “Garlic scapes are the tender stem and flower bud of a hardneck garlic plant. (Hardneck garlic is the kind of garlic that typically grows in Canada and the northeastern U.S.) Scapes first grow straight out of the garlic bulb, then coil. When harvested, they look like long, curly green beans.” (from chatelaine.com)