garlic-frost
 

How does garlic survives the frost?
Does anyone got any scientific info about it?

And at which temperature should I cover the garlic, to protect it?

I really don't think 'covering' garlic with anything helps. I plant garlic at our Thanksgiving, straight in the ground, no mulch. Our frost can go down to 3 feet, so I cannot see what mulch could do to prevent frost damage!

I also plant my garlic in early October. I do cover with a few inches of shredded leaves, but that is just to allow for a slightly longer period of warmth to allow the roots a good head start. We also get frost several feet down, and temperatures that can go to -35 or -40 C (with or without a good snow cover - climate change, right?). Always get a good crop.

Same here -- usually plant in the second half of October, let it get itself settled in, and then mulch with light a layer of leaves in late November. I once read that it was to help moderate soil temperature, but I don't know if that's a fact or not. I've always done and never had a problem, so I'm going to keep doing it. I do make sure to pull the mulch early during our spring thaw, otherwise it gets too soggy underneath.

Then I shouldn't be worried:)

What kind of garlic do you plant?
Are there sorts more suitable for the extreme cold?

garlic-frost
 

The first two questions on this page provide info on varieties that are better suited for warmer vs. colder climates. Personally I've only grown hardnecks (German White, Spanish Roja, German Red, and Music). I'm considering adding in a softneck variety next year to see how it does.

http://www.hoodrivergarlic.com/faqs.htm

I always thought that the advantage of mulching garlic was to minimize the freeze-thaw cycle that can occur in fall and spring, and perhaps during the January thaw. The mulch just causes it to stay frozen once it does freeze, so the roots don't get damaged by frost heaving the plants around.
I have also understood you should pull the mulch back in the spring, but I never do. The garlic comes up through it just fine, and the mulch then does what it always does for weed reduction and moisture retention. I mulch fairly heavily with grass clippings.


There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

We mulch here in southern BC Canada to prevent the freeze thaw that can damage the roots, repeated freezing and thawing can pull the roots off. We normally get more then a foot of frost in the ground. We like to wait for the ground to freeze before mulching.

I have been growing hard neck garlic for three years here in zone 6a PA. Like most of you above I plant in late September or around Columbus Day in October. The garlic has overwintered very well with some straw thrown over it. At the moment it is insulated under about 6-8" of snow. Last summer one variety in one part of the garden suffered from bulb rot but I understand there is some new fungus or such affecting garlic. Hope it was a one time occurrence as I love my garlic and need that spot. I didn't plant any in that affected area just to be safe. This winter seems to be a real test with all the bitter cold, not just for the garlic! I will be interested to see what survives the constant and extreme temperature shifts. While the snow is a pain to deal with in other ways, it is a gardener's gift to keeping roots safe.

I agree with Farmer Shawn that the purpose of mulching in a cold winter climate is not to act as a cozy blanket keeping plants warm as many people think but rather as he mentions to keep the ground frozen as it is freeze-thaw cycles that cause much of the plant loss in winter. As to why garlic doesn't freeze, it is a bulb which has stored starches in it. cold temperatures cause those starches to convert into sugar molecules which act as almost an antifreeze lowering the freezing point of water in the bulb. A very simplified version of the science but this is true for all winter hardy bulbs including spring flowering bulbs like tulips and daffodils too.
I live in Zone 3 in Northern Alberta and some varieties of garlic (hardneck) will over-winter here. good snow cover helps and fresh home grown garlic is great but it is not a great crop for our area in any large scale way.
Karen

i never heard of pulling off the roots but it makes sense.

typically you mulch to protect the ground in freeze thaw cycles so the cloves aren't pushed up.

i use 1-2" of the straw used to mulch my tomatoes and peppers since that is where the garlic is planted in late october (4 year crop rotation). i add 4-5" of shredded leaves on top of the straw and remove the leaves leaving the straw in mid march when the garlic is 1-2" tall.

tom

I think another thing that the freeze-thaw cycle does is to lift the garlic out of the soil, in response to repeated freezing and thawing?? I guess this could cause the roots to tear as well.

Here, we can have very mild winters. My worse garlic years were years where the green leaves never died back. These were years when we didn't get a good freeze. My bulbs failed to divide.

For me, a good freeze results in the best garlic. The freezing cycle makes the garlic react in a favorable way once spring comes - larger bulbs with good clove division.

Mulching with leaves, especially in areas like mine where early and late freezes occur, helps to control the ground temps until it really is time for the garlic to regrow the leaves.

I have hardneck varieties, except for the Vallalado, and Elephant garlic.
Can they master freezing temperature?

We had only 1 day of frost untill now.
It should get colder though, next week temperature at night will be around -1°C. (just below freezing)

Yes, the hard necks should survive nicely through freezing temperatures. It helps to cover them with some straw, however.

If you mulch the garlic.
Can you put it completely over the garlic, like a blanket?
It doesn't matter the garlic receives no sunlight?