Fall Garlic Planting

I have finally planted my garlic garden. I really like being able to plant a garden in the fall and then watch it pop up in the early spring. It almost feels like it does it all on its own, when I am just getting started on long days digging and planting these little beauties are reaching for the sun.

When I pull the garlic out I start to prepare the garden for the next planting right away. I like to put roughage in the soil to replace the roots and bulbs I removed. I cut the raspberry canes back three years ago I kept the long stalks, cutting them into 6-8” pieces, intending to use them in the composter but finding so many usages for them along the way. Turning sticks, twigs, fall leaves, old garlic stalks into a garden provides compostable materials and an avenue for rain to filter down deep into the soil and opens airspaces up for worms. Worm highways are important in a healthy garden.

Once the soil is prepared I select the larger bulbs from my harvest and break them apart, I poke holes and drop a clove in point up and cover it up. A hole about 2 ½ times the length of the clove so 2–2½“deep is fine. sometimes the cold will pop the clove back up, you will find them poking out of the soil or lying on top, poke a hole in with your finger, or a screwdriver works well, and tuck it back in. A friend uses a piece of doweling with markings for ½”, 1”, 2” and 3” and pokes all his planting holes with that. I find three inches apart works well, it leaves plenty room and a small space can give me lots of garlic.

The best crop is when I cover the garden with mulch.

You can use hay, straw or in the spirit of using what Mother Nature provides, I use grass. I cut long grass from the meadow, this year the seed heads were well over 5ft! I take a handful and with yard scissors or hedge clippers cut a couple inches up from the ground. I take the grass and cut the seed head off so I am not planting grass seed in my garden, I don’t want more than what I already have. Then at the garlic garden I clip the stems into 8 – 12” pieces and spread them and inch or two thick. This will protect the cloves, keep the moisture in and warm the ground early in spring when you will see fresh green shoots poking through the grassy layer as soon as the snow starts to disappear. Long grass can be gathered from the roadside, field or empty lot, when you start to look you will find many great gathering locations close by. When you cut the seed heads off you just might want to keep them in a paper bag for a quick yard fix that I will be posting soon.

I leave the mulch in place until all chance of frost is gone and the sun is reliably warm then I pile it at the end of the garden so I can turn it into the soil after the garlic is out.

I have left the grass in place until harvest and found it suppressed grass and weed growth really well, I just like to turn the grass late spring, early summer or after an unusually wet season to be sure there is no mould or insect issues and let it air out.

So, plant your garlic now and relax until you harvest it, you will have plenty time to gather great garlic recipes and don’t forget about garlic preserves, you will have lots of garlic so make it last. New Garlic recipes have just been posted at naturesfoodrecipes.blogspot.com. ENJOY!!