How to Raise Garlic: Production and Storage

I am cheering for the completed garlic harvest. 2023 marks the 7th year I harvested this nutritious and easy grow food. For several years I planted 2 to 3 times more than the previous year bringing the total to around 600 bulbs of 7 varieties of hard neck garlic in 2022. This post will focus on hard neck garlic.

Read about my first year growing experience below:

Garlic

2022-2023 Planting Improvements

After attending the Indiana Homesteaders Conference in the fall of 2022, I put together information gathered at a couple of the sessions and came up with a couple new ideas to try on the garlic project.  The following is what I did and the results. I planted between 700 and 800 cloves of 7 varieties.

First, I planted the garlic in plots or groups by variety instead of planting in rows.  I used the hand cultivator to work up the soil.  Next in 3 of the plots I added compost from our farm compost pile.  This has been aging several years with no fancy process. (I did not turn it.) It is basically a manure pile that has broken down over time. It does get a good helping of leaves dumped on it each fall via the trees around it.

I found by planting in plots I used less garden space and since the bulbs were in close proximity there was less space for weeds. Notice I said less space, the weeds still appeared. I considered this a win and plan to continue growing garlic in such fashion.

The 3 plots I added garlic to were Spanish Rojo, Metechi and Majestic. Keep in mind we had a rather dry start the end of May and June seen only a small amount of rainfall.  I did a better job watering the Spanish Rojo of the 3 plots I added compost to when planting. 

The Results

Spanish Rojo turned out amazing. They are typically a smaller bulb to begin with but in the 22-23 season I grew the biggest Spanish Rojo bulbs I have ever grown. The other 2, Majestic and Metechi were at least average if not an improvement over last year.  I did not water them as much and suspect our dry spell made the difference. I definitely plan to add compost to all the garlic plots when I plant again this fall.

Keep in mind your soil may or may not need compost or other additions to produce a better garlic. I am not examining all soil needs in this post. Rather I am sharing my personal garlic growing experience. I do discuss farther on in the post general soil requirements for optimal garlic production.

Soft Neck Garlic?

I gave soft neck garlic a try for the first time in 2023. when I get a post written I will link it here.

How much does it cost to grow?

I get excited for ways to grow food for little to no out of pocket cost. Growing your own garlic becomes a sustainable process costing $0 after you purchase your initial start if you select and save a part of your harvest for next years crop. I go over what to look for as you select cloves for planting from your harvest and best places to find your original seed to begin planting.

How to Plant Garlic

Best practice for acquiring seed.

Did you know much of the garlic purchased in a local grocery came from China or other counties?  Little is documented as to how it was raised, potentially with chemicals or other impure methods. Local farmers markets are a great source for purchasing to begin growing your own.

Another reason to find a local source allows you to choose from different varieties. Here at CG Heartbeats Farm, I am raising Metechi, Majestic, Music, Montana, German, Spanish Rojo, and Elephant. 

If you are not happy with your local options, search online for garlic raised locally in the United States. CG Heartbeats Farm offers an online purchasing option and at local farmer’s markets. In the past I utilized both online and local buying options for my first crop and to add new varieties.

When to plant hard neck garlic?

As a general rule, plant hard neck garlic before the ground freezes.  As I recently finished up my 6th growing season, I want to share an observation from my 2020 harvest. 

Our 2019 fall stretched long into a late ground freeze. Hence, the timing of when I planted the cloves occurred later than previous years.  I will need to check the dates to know exactly how much later.

Trouble Shooting My 2020 Harvest

I found as I harvested many of the bulbs were not as large as previous years. Why were the bulbs smaller?  One reason may be a shorter growing season, brought about by the late planting. I did not harvest any later, if anything some I harvested earlier. The condition of the stalks strongly indicated even when I did harvest, I was late in harvesting. No opportunity on the harvest end to lengthen the growing season.

An earlier planting provides space for a longer growing season. By earlier in northern Indiana, I am talking mid to late October vs. late November to early December. I want to begin planting garlic by mid October and be finished in the first week of November.

Factors I consider as to why the bulbs were smaller this year

• Shorter growing season (late plant)
• Late freeze and multiple dips in spring temps late into spring
• High moisture both in the chaff (ground cover) and in the soil itself.
• Soil not draining as well as often due to our wet spring.

How to Plant Hard Neck Garlic?

I trench rows with a hoe. Set 1 clove 3 to 4 inches apart down the trench and cover with soil. I push each clove down into the soil a little to keep it standing upright. I cover the cloves with around 1 -2 inches of soil.

Where to plant?

Garlic does best in well-drained soil which still contains decent fertile matter. Too much moisture in the soil seems to discourage larger bulbs from developing.

The Growing Process

After planting, I cover the ground with hay chaff left over from where the hay is stored. As much as I have available, I put wood chips on top of the hay chaff.

A challenge of growing a greater number of bulbs this year was not having enough wood chips to cover all the planted cloves.  Instead I added additional chaff and by happenstance it also had a bit of shavings and chicken manure mixed in.  I am going to make sure I stick closer to 100% chaff next season.

The wood chips and chicken manure trapped too much moisture in our wetter than usual spring. I found too many stalks had started to rot, while the soil below where the bulb sat was completely dry. Chaff alone seems less likely to create this problem.

Like I said, we had an unusually wet spring and I am certain this fact influenced the stalk decay as well. On a dry year trapping the moisture benefits the plant.  

Once planted, the only other important chore is keeping any weeds at bay.

In the spring the green leaves appear as early as February. If you wonder as I did will a frost or freeze damage the growing plants? The answer is no. The tops may brown, but the growth continues.

The garlic reached above my knees in May. We had a freeze warning. We did cover the plants with plastic propped up with portable fence posts, tomato cages, and driveway markers. Pretty much anything we had around that would prop the plastic up over the green plants. I did not loose any from the weather, but it is another factor I consider when I wonder why the bulbs were smaller in general this year.

Scapes

If you like garlic, there is nothing quite like a freshly picked scape. In season for only a week or two, I ate one almost daily for a week. I also enjoyed them on chili. Other years I have make a delicious garlic scape pesto (see this post for ingredients)

What is a garlic scape?

The top of a hard neck garlic plant will produce a flower if not removed. At first, it appears to curl around completely, but over time it will straighten and produce a flower.

Scapes are removed to allow a plant to put its energy into growing a larger bulb. If left alone, the flower will produce seed and it is another way to start garlic. Growing from seed involves 2 growing seasons instead of one. I have not tried producing garlic form seed instead of cloves, but I am saving seeds from Elephant garlic this year to experiment with.

Exactly when a scape is removed influences the size of a bulb and impacts the storage life of a bulb.  A scape removed later promotes longer storage. If you do not remove the scape at all a flower will appear and eventually seeds.

Be aware you will likely grow smaller garlic bulbs, but the seeds can be used in cooking too. The size of the flowers and seeds vary depending on the variety.

Harvest and Storage

Garlic can be harvested, eaten immediately, or cured before eating.

When is the best time to harvest?

In northern Indiana harvest usually happens in July when the bottom 3 or 4 leaves turn brown.

How to harvest?

When I can, I simply tug upward on the stalk. If the ground is dry or the stalks wet, I use a shovel to carefully loosen the soil around each bulb.

A word of caution! Be careful to leave enough space between the bulb and the shovel to refrain from damaging a bulb with the shovel. Ask me how I know? Experience!  Last year for some reason I damaged quite a few. This year only one I can recall.

Sorting Garlic

How do I choose the best cloves for seed?

The largest cloves will produce the biggest bulbs so these are the ones I save back to plant next years crop with.

I also do not use any bulbs which are blotted by spots of any kind. While it grows without many issues, I want to use the healthiest cloves for planting.

The Curing Process

I try to hang garlic for around 4 weeks before I consider it completely cured. However, there is nothing wrong with eating some as soon as it is harvested.  I may lay it flat, bulbs and stacks, for a day or two prior to hanging it depending on my schedule.

Garlic can be laid out to dry, too. I prefer to hang it by the stalks to allow any oil in the stalk to run down into the bulb.  Inevitably, each year I end up with bulbs and no stalks, due to harvest error or late harvest. These I lay out to dry, but if I am going to consume garlic after harvest, it will be the stalkless bulbs,

Storing Garlic

Best places to store your harvested bulbs? Place in dry, dark areas with good air circulation such as paper bags or wire baskets. Keeping it in a refrigerator creates a moisture rich environment causing garlic to sprout and soften faster. I do NOT recommend storing it in a refrigerator.

Braids

Braids provide a gorgeous storage option. I have yet to try my hand at braiding it.  The soft neck variety is the best choice for braiding. However, it is on my bucket list along with growing from seed (instead of cloves), fermenting, and pickling garlic.

2023 -2024 Goals

There are a few ideas for creating trenches to help with watering plots in case of a drought for future growing seasons simmering in my head.

I grew soft neck garlic for the first time in 2023. Now, I hope with some modification my crop will yield larger bulbs.