Garlic
 

[url]http://www.durgan.org/URL/?TPUDR[/url] 16 April 2013 Garlic
The garlic survived the Winter with no damage. I raked the mulch away from the plants to encourage soil warm up.It will be applied later to encourage moisture retention.

[url]http://www.durgan.org/URL/?SXLKB[/url] 16 October 2012 Planting Garlic
One hundred cloves of hard neck garlic was planted. Depth is two inches to the base of the clove and spacing is eight inches centre to centre. The clove is simply pushed firmly into the planting area. The bed was covered with about four inches of wood chip mulch to inhibit soil drying from Sun evaporation.The leaves have no difficulty pushing through the mulch. The bed will require no care until harvest in July 2013.Only good shaped and large cloves were selected, but previous experience indicated that even small cloves produce quality garlic the same size as the larger cloves.

[url]http://www.durgan.org/URL/?VGGQP[/url] 13 October 2012 Preparing Garlic Bed.
Garlic bed was prepared for the 2012 planting or July,2013 harvest. The bed was enclosed about 7 by 8 feet.Garlic cloves will be planted later in the month of October. A layer of compost(the fertilizer) was added and rototilled into the underlying soil.A new area is selected each year.

thanks for the pics. a nice guide for the garlic grower. keep em coming

very nice!

I was not sarisfied with ordering from the garlic store in ft Collins Colorado.. I places a large order last yr had problems with the product called several times to discuss and never recied a courtesy call back I wont order from them again or recomend

NIce pictures, and easy to see the progression of building a raised bed for the garlic.

I would use shredded leaves or straw instead of the wood chips, but it all depends on availability.

[QUOTE=guruofgardens;345436]NIce pictures, and easy to see the progression of building a raised bed for the garlic.

I would use shredded leaves or straw instead of the wood chips, but it all depends on availability.[/QUOTE]

So true. You tend to use what is readily available. I have used all types of mulch but now prefer the year old wood chips. The garlic plants have no difficulty growing through about three inches of chips in my case. They are primarily to maintain moisture to inhibit Sun evaporation. Another thing about the wood chips is they are easy to handle and it takes a fairly high wind to move them out of position, also rain gets through them readily to the plant roots.

A good place to order garlic is We Grow Garlic in Wisconsin. They have a good website for instructions on planting, experiments in soaking the garlic before planting, good and bad results, etc. Keep checking on their availability right after harvest because they sell out quickly.

[QUOTE=Durgan;345439]I have used all types of mulch but now prefer the year old wood chips. The garlic plants have no difficulty growing through about three inches of chips in my case. [/QUOTE]

But what about next season? I wouldn't want wood chips being turned under but straw or leaves will break down fast.

tom

[QUOTE=guruofgardens;345452]A good place to order garlic is We Grow Garlic in Wisconsin. They have a good website for instructions on planting, experiments in soaking the garlic before planting, good and bad results, etc. Keep checking on their availability right after harvest because they sell out quickly.[/QUOTE]

I just read their page on planting garlic because you mentioned that they soak it and i wanted to see how they do it. I was told by the farmer I purchased my initial seed stock from to soak it this way, except he said two hours in baking soda instead of overnight, and then three minutes in alcohol. You don't lose the skins off the cloves with a two hour soak, and I've never had any issues with disease. Harvest have been fantastic, so I keep using his method.

[QUOTE=tjg911;345473]But what about next season? I wouldn't want wood chips being turned under but straw or leaves will break down fast.
tom[/QUOTE]

When first using wood chips my intention was to rake the cover off, then prepare the soil as required. Low and behold there was practically nothing to rake off. Even after one summer breakdown is very high, and after being rototilled in and overwintered there is nothing left. My view is the wood chips condition the soil and are totally beneficial. At the present time, I have no compunction in laying wood chips all over the vegetable garden primarily to inhibit moisture loss due to hot Sun evaporation. Straw and leaves can be a pain in the azz when planting seeds, since they tend to get in the way. My wood chips allow moisture to seep through without hindrance. Both straw and leaves can be as major problem. Also there are absolutely no weed seeds in wood chips.

I do a absolutely nothing with my seed garlic. The bulbs are separated just before planting and simply placed in the ground. Never had diseases or any problems. Have been using my own garlic for about eight years. Maybe it is the cold climate, Zone 5.

The 2011\2012 Garlic Crop.
 

[url]http://www.durgan.org/URL/?DTOIB[/url] 14 July 2012. Garlic. Final preparation for storage
Garlic was trimmed in preparation for storage.There are slightly more than 100 bulbs for storage.

[url]http://www.durgan.org/URL/?ILQFH[/url] 14 July 2012 Garlic. Scapes allowed to form seeds.
Scapes allowed to grow to form seeds. Now in the flowering stage.

[url]http://www.durgan.org/URL/?TCXKI[/url] 1 July 2012 Garlic Harvested.
Garlic was harvested today, about 140 plants were harvested. Sixteen of the largest were set aside for planting for the 2013 year. The soil was loosened with a fork then the plant pulled. Ten plants were slip knot tied into a bundle and hung to dry in partial shade. Later they were hung in the shed for curing. There were about ten rejects due to damage or malformed bulbs, and ten plants with small bulbs were set aside for immediate use.The harvest was almost identical to previous years. My garlic bulbs has six cloves of almost the same size.Ten plants with scapes still on were left to produce seed. Almost all the mulch applied in 2011 has disappeared.The soil was very dry.I pull my garlic when the lower leaves start to die off,usually within the first five days of July.Storage garlic is better pulled early rather than late. It stores longer.

[url]http://www.durgan.org/URL/?SXHNW[/url] 5 June 2012 Garlic Scapes Removed
The scapes were removed from the garlic plants. Twelve were not removed so bulbils (the garlic seeds) can be produced, and after three years with successive planting will produce normal size clone bulbs.

[url]http://www.durgan.org/URL/?CFGOS[/url] 15 May 2012 Garlic Growth
A new area is selected for garlic each year. This area tends to be rather wet but is well drained. The wetness was of some concern, but it now appears to be beneficial.The garlic plants this year are the most robust seen over the last five years, and there is two months before harvest about the 10 of July 2012.

[url]http://www.durgan.org/URL/?QIVZF[/url] 22 March 2012 Garlic Thriving

[url]http://www.durgan.org/URL/?DTNMZ[/url] 24 Ocober 2011 Planting Hard Neck Garlic
About 100 cloves of hard neck garlic was planted in a 8 by 8 foot bed. Cloves were planted at six inch spacing with the base firmly pushed into the soil at a depth (base) of about two inches. The bulbs were saved from the 2011 crop, and were large, with from five to seven cloves in each bulb. The bed was mulched with wood chips to limit the effects of the normal winter thawing and freezing cycles, and to limit moisture loss due to evaporation. The vegetation has no difficulty pushing through the mulch in the Spring. The bed wont be touched until the scapes (seed pods) are removed, and then the harvest about the 10 of July 2012. A new bed area is selected each year, which is laced with compost and worked into the underlying soil.

i guess it depends upon what the wood chips look like. yours sound like they are pretty thin but most i see are thick and large and those would never breakdown on the surface in one season even after being turned under. you are right about no weed seeds in wood chips!

tom

[url]http://www.durgan.org/URL/?XOHCE[/url] 11 May 2013 Garlic Growing Well. It has been a cool Spring, in spite of, the garlic is thriving.

Think I will try the wood chips this year. I have been covering with shredded leaves the past few yrs with no problem, but this yr the leaves blew off and I did not see soon enough...the snow came and covered the bed. This spring I can see that the cloves appear to have rotted...120 potential bulbs of 12 different varieties gone. This garden is not at my house so that is why I did not notice the leaves being gone. :cry: