First time planting garlic

[SueCT]

I see instruction saying to plant 2" deep, but the instructions with it says 4" deep. Also, do you harvest your scapes in the spring? One reason I want to plant garlic is to try scapes, but I just read that it can damage your bulbs so not to harvest them from all your plants. Do I need to plant a second crop if I want to harvest enough scapes to use? I bought 3 varieties to try Chesnok, Music and German Red. I understand the largest cloves produce the largest bulbs, but I noticed the German Red bulbs are much larger than the other two. All the packages in the store were like that. Are some varieties just larger than others? Should I plant the small cloves in a different spot and maybe just harvest those for scapes? Thanks for the help!

[RayR]

A lot of questions!
The bottom of the clove 2"=3" down is good. I've never planted 4" down. Mulch with shredded leaves or hay
Harvest your scapes when they are ready in summer, not spring.
Harvesting scapes will not damage your bulbs. Where did you hear that?
Plant all your cloves in October up North, you'll harvest all your scapes within the same week when ready in summer.
I also planted Chesnok, Music and German Red this month. Yes some varieties can get much larger than others. There may be hundreds of different varieties, different sizes, colors and flavor profiles.
You can plant the smaller cloves for scapes or cloves. The bulbs will just be smaller but fine to use. The scapes may be smaller too.

[PhilaGardener]

Cutting scapes is supposed to stimulate head development, since the plant is not supporting the development of the bulbils.

I also plant my cloves 2-3 inches deep and mulch heavily.

Bulb size will vary by variety, but also gets better when you replant the best year after year. It is an easy, amazing, and rewarding crop.

Good luck with them!

[SueCT]

LOL, yes I know, I do ask a lot of questions. I once had a job researching facts and it was clearly one that suited my personality. I like to know all about it before I start so I get the best results the first time. Thank you for taking the time to answer. This is where I got the information: http://www.wikihow.com/Grow-Garlic. I always have some distrust of sites like that since you never really know the level of expertise of the person providing the information, which is why I wanted to verify it, or not as the case may be, here. I know a lot of people get wild scapes but I don't know of any local places where they grow, and have never seen any for sale locally at farmers markets or grocers, so growing my own seemed the best way to try them. If it actually stimulates bulb growth, even better!

Of those varieties are there different uses you prefer for each?

I planted about 20 cloves, but if I plant more can I do another row 6" behind the current one and just offset them from the previous row or should I space furhter apart? I have a small garden so I usually only plant tomatoes and peppers and I don't want to go crazy and make half the garden garlic.

[jmsieglaff]

Sue your plan should work just fine. I plant my garlic 4 per square foot. I plant 7 squares so 28 heads each year and that works perfect for our family. I echo the mulching advice given above.

[Ricky Shaw]

Whatever variety I have it's done and pulled by the middle of July and I do an overlap crop in proximity. I leave a couple of large gaps in the garlic rows of a 4x8 bed. In early June I'll sow 2 mounds of cukes or vine squash, by the time they take off, the garlic is ready to be pulled and they fill the space.

[KC.Sun]

Filaree Garlic Farm is a good garlic source if you want to look for other varieties. I could be wrong, but recall seeing a link that describes how to grow garlic.

They have several varieties ranging from mild to spicy. I ordered from several garlic sources this year, this one seems to provide the best quality garlic for planting.

[Father'sDaughter]

I plant my garlic with six inch spacing and it work well. I've seen many places specify 4-6" but I think 4" is pushing it.

As for scapes, they will initially grow straight up and then curl into a pig tail. You want to snap them off while they're curled and before they begin to straighten back out. I harvest mine as they're ready vs all at once, and for me this is usually in mid-to-late June.

I've kept scapes in ziplock bags in the produce drawer of my fridge for several weeks, so don't feel pressured to do something with them all at once. Most of mine are turned into pesto which is frozen and wrapped well, but I leave some for other recipes.

I knew nothing about scapes when I started growing garlic, but they are now the primary reason why I plant at least 120 cloves every year!

[pondgardener]

This is my first year growing garlic in Colorado and I planted mine about 3-4" deep with the intent of covering with a heavy mulch of pine needles after the ground freezes. If you have access to your library you may try to check out the book listed below. I have just started reading it and it has a lot of information about growing garlic and when to cut scapes and how to use them. In addition, you may look for your state extension office, Colorado State University for me, to check their recommendations as well.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Complete-B.../dp/0881928836

Good luck,
George

[Worth1]

I have absolutely no advice for anyone living up north on how deep to plant garlic.
I plant mine to where the top of the bulb is about 1/2 to 1 inch under the ground,
maybe more.
Worth

[pondgardener]

SueCT,

Here also is a link closer to your neck of the woods. As is mentioned in the link, the tip of the planted garlic should be about 2" below the soil surface, which would mean that the root end would be about 3" below the surface. And like others have mentioned, mulch seems to be an important addition, after the ground freezes.

http://www.woodlandgardensct.com/edi...ng-garlic.html


George

[SueCT]

Thanks for all the info and advise! I can't wait to try the scapes and I will probably plant even the smallest cloves just to harvest the scapes from them. Thank you, everyone!

[bower]

SueCT, I've been growing Chesnok and Music here for a couple of years, and you might want to know that Chesnok will form scapes later than Music. They're a smaller plant as well, but that's normal for them. So you'll have two separate flushes of scapes with those two.

[Spike2]

I only planted Music last year and ate the scapes as fast as they came on!! Someone around here has a recipe for pickled scapes I am dying to get my hands on to make!

I have only ever planted garlic about 2" deep and have never had a problem. Here is the "lake effect" area of NE Ohio I had my garlic planted around the last week of September.

[clkeiper]

I plant garlic about... 3" deep... sometimes maybe 2 and other times probably 4"... doesn't seem to hurt them, just get them in the ground. I have taken scapes to the market just to have something on the table, but I can't even give them away at the end of the market.