Garlic questions

[TZ-OH6]

It is recommended to plant garlic in the fall before cold weather to get more cloves, but what if you get them in early spring and then have a few cold snaps? (TZ says while looking at a dusting of snow on the ground).


How much cold is needed?


And if this cold is needed why is so much garlic grown in California where it does not get to freeze over winter?

[neoguy]

I'm no expert but I believe they grow mostly softneck varieties in California and other warm locals. Hardneck grows much better in colder climates where freezing occurs.
Both softneck and hardneck can be grown in colder climates.

As far as a dormancy period for garlic, I think you need a minimum of 6-8 weeks, someone correct me if I'm wrong. As I'm on the southern lake shore of Lake Erie, the dormancy period isn't a problem for me, unfortunately . Boy, this has been a long winter, snow is falling as I write this.

You can plant garlic in the spring but it probably won't produce cloves, only what's called a "round", a single large clove. Hardneck garlic planted in the fall will start producing cloves in late May or early June, and harvest is around the 4th of July.

My preference is for hardneck garlic, each head produces about 6-8 large cloves, depending on the variety. Much easier to clean and work with when cooking, no little, rinky, dinky cloves to try to handle.

[rxkeith]

there was a lot of debate about this issue on garden web at one time. martin longseth, was in the thick of it. seems a lot of commercially grown garlic is spring planted. my own personal experience is limited. i lived in michigans' upper peninsula for 10 years. i had bigger bulbs when they were fall planted. i planted some in the spring a couple years, and they just didn't size up well. the same bulbs when fall planted the following year sized up well. this spring will be the big experiment. we moved, and weren't able to plant in the fall. i have no choice but to spring plant. the harvest will be later in the year. i'll take whatever i get.
i would plant the cloves as soon the ground can be worked, and not worry about any temporary cold snaps. garlic is pretty tough. if it gets cold enough to freeze the ground, you may want to mulch the garlic till it warms up.


keith

[tjg911]

from what i have read you plant garlic in the fall for it to set roots to prevent heaving during freeze thaw cycles. also you have a bulb ready to grow as soon as conditions are ready come spring. also from what i have read spring planted garlic will produce smaller bulbs or as was said just 1 clove for the whole bulb and if more than 1 clove probably very small bulbs. fall planted garlic produces full sized bulbs. as far as dormancy, i do not know but fall planted garlic does get a good long dormant period.

garlic starts to create a bulb about 30 days prior to harvest so there's a lot of growing that happens in that final month unlike onions that require about 2 months to create a finished bulb once bulbing starts. my garlic is ready to dig about 7/25 for hardneck and a week earlier for softneck. my garlic is 6" tall already so you are way behind but it's your call whether to give it a try. if you have the space to waste then try it but if space is limited i'd wait for fall and use that space for other things.

california, from what i understand, grows just softnecks. i think that hardneck does not do well below a certain latitude (like day short day long onions need to be grown in the correct regions) but up here we can grow both. my hardneck garlic varieties produce larger bulbs than my softnecks but the softnecks store longer. my nootaka rose bulbs are are still tight and rock hard! unfortunately i did not plant this variety or any softnecks last fall due to their smaller bulbs after 2 seasons of growing softnecks. but seeing the great storage this season, better than last, i wish i had planted some softnecks.

tom

[OmahaJB]

Speaking of garlic....last year was my first for growing garlic. I planted the previous fall, thanks to a generous offer from Alex (velikipop). Softnecks and hardnecks were included.

I mixed quality compost into the soil, and planted what I thought were quite a few cloves. Well, believe it or not squirrels dug a few up thinking they were nuts I'm guessing, and I had left a few others out for use, since I thought I had planted enough to get a good crop of garlic.

Was a little disappointed with how many came up, but still had at least a dozen mostly decent-sized bulbs. A couple were smaller. I planted them more for my mother than myself since I rarely use it, and to see the early spring growth. It was something new for me to grow out. My mother loved the freshness of the garlic. When I first wanted to plant it she seemed a little indifferent, but she enjoyed watching it grow during the spring and early summer, and later having it hanging by her doorway until she used it.

So last fall I planted about twice as many, and my mother told me there are well over 20 that are at least a few inches tall. She was counting them while on the phone with me, and stopped at 20 but said there are well over that amount. I believe the fact I added the compost in the previous year, and didn't really use that area, that it set in well and is helping to provide very rich soil for the garlic. Not to mention we had a colder winter this year than last. Some believe colder winters may actually be better for some reason. Not sure why.

Only thing is I could kick myself for not keeping track of which varieties are which. When I took them out of the ground last July I was in a hurry and just set them all together in a pile until I was through. Not a big deal I guess, but would have been nice to keep straight for comparisons sake.

This year I'll finally learn how to make great chili while using fresh garlic. Something I said I would do last year, and the year before that....

A mistake I made last year was in letting too many of them grow seeds. I forget the name of it so I'll call it a 'stalk', but when it starts to curl is a good time to take it off the plant so all the energy goes to producing the bulb and not the seeds. I have 2 baggies of seeds from last year, one has more dark seeds. Not sure what that indicates, if anything. Perhaps the seeds are more mature? I meant to start a few this year to see how long it'll take to get decent sized bulbs. I read it takes at least 2 years. Just something fun to try.

Jeff

[Suze]

Originally Posted by TZ-OH6

It is recommended to plant garlic in the fall before cold weather to get more cloves, but what if you get them in early spring and then have a few cold snaps? (TZ says while looking at a dusting of snow on the ground).

And if this cold is needed why is so much garlic grown in California where it does not get to freeze over winter?

It's not just cold, daylength is a major factor as well. Actually, I think daylength might even be more important than cold. Some garlic varieties or types are more daylength sensitive than others. As others have mentioned, in warmer zones, softnecks tend to do better, and the reason is because they are less daylength sensitive. Most of the garlic you see at the grocery is artichoke (softneck) and is likely the ubiquitous and rather mild California Early, and sometimes California Late. Also, much of it will come from Ca, China, and sometimes Mexico.

Also, in warmer zones, yes, garlic can be planted past autumn (which is the optimal time for everyone, cool zone or warm) again because of daylength, and because our soil never freezes or heaves, so (very early) spring plantings can do well and put down root, especially with artichoke types, which are easy to grow in most zones.

Much of what I grow here is artichoke, with a few Creole types thrown in (can go soft or hardneck depending on growing conditions). Creoles are usually softneck for me here.

In a cooler zone, if you can dig though the soil (if not frozen) to plant it late winter to early spring, and cushion with mulch to limit heaving, I suppose it is possible (?) Really better to try to get it in during autumn, though.

[TZ-OH6]

I think what I planted was softneck. The label simply said "Gourmet Garlic"...from Lowes. It was identical to supermarked garlic, and different from the 'seed' garlic I bought from a local nursery (but never planted) last year. The nursery garlic had a hard central stem in the middle of all the cloves.

I planted a month ago, and most nights have been below freezing, with days in the 40s-50s-60s. Sprouts are just coming up now, and there is another 6 weeks before last frost date.

It seems odd that everyplace here is selling 'seed' garlic in the spring rather than in the fall.

[tjg911]

that is odd but then i'm not familiar with weather and climate in ohio. from what suze said, garlic can be planted in spring with success. up here i think you really need to get it in before winter as you typically hear that spring planted garlic produces just 1 clove or a smallish bulb but maybe that applies to latitudes north of XX°. i seldom reply to questions outside my area (like from the middle of the country south or out west) as i just do not know how different things are 'there'. i assumed that ohio was similiar to ct since you are not all that far and about the same latitude if up in the north, maybe not. i would be interested to know how you do as far as size of the bulbs and number of cloves as well as when they mature.

tom

[eddie46]

In zone 6 you plant garlic the first week after the first full moon in October.

Ed

[henry]

Information on growing garlic in Ohio.

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1627.html
I expect you will find all the information you need here.

Henry

[Tormato]

Originally Posted by OmahaJB

Speaking of garlic....last year was my first for growing garlic. I planted the previous fall, thanks to a generous offer from Alex (velikipop). Softnecks and hardnecks were included.

I mixed quality compost into the soil, and planted what I thought were quite a few cloves. Well, believe it or not squirrels dug a few up thinking they were nuts I'm guessing, and I had left a few others out for use, since I thought I had planted enough to get a good crop of garlic.

Was a little disappointed with how many came up, but still had at least a dozen mostly decent-sized bulbs. A couple were smaller. I planted them more for my mother than myself since I rarely use it, and to see the early spring growth. It was something new for me to grow out. My mother loved the freshness of the garlic. When I first wanted to plant it she seemed a little indifferent, but she enjoyed watching it grow during the spring and early summer, and later having it hanging by her doorway until she used it.

So last fall I planted about twice as many, and my mother told me there are well over 20 that are at least a few inches tall. She was counting them while on the phone with me, and stopped at 20 but said there are well over that amount. I believe the fact I added the compost in the previous year, and didn't really use that area, that it set in well and is helping to provide very rich soil for the garlic. Not to mention we had a colder winter this year than last. Some believe colder winters may actually be better for some reason. Not sure why.

Only thing is I could kick myself for not keeping track of which varieties are which. When I took them out of the ground last July I was in a hurry and just set them all together in a pile until I was through. Not a big deal I guess, but would have been nice to keep straight for comparisons sake.

This year I'll finally learn how to make great chili while using fresh garlic. Something I said I would do last year, and the year before that....

A mistake I made last year was in letting too many of them grow seeds. I forget the name of it so I'll call it a 'stalk', but when it starts to curl is a good time to take it off the plant so all the energy goes to producing the bulb and not the seeds. I have 2 baggies of seeds from last year, one has more dark seeds. Not sure what that indicates, if anything. Perhaps the seeds are more mature? I meant to start a few this year to see how long it'll take to get decent sized bulbs. I read it takes at least 2 years. Just something fun to try.

Jeff

Jeff,
The name of that "stalk" 'scapes my mind, too.

Tormato