Let's Grow Stuff

- Greetings from the garden.

My name is Ben and welcome back to Let's Grow Stuff.

Well, garlic is one of my favorite things to cook with, and it's also one of the easiest kitchen staples for you to grow in your own garden.

Today, we're going to learn how to plant it.

Let's get to it!

Now, garlic is planted in fall and harvested the following August.

Since it's a bulb, it doesn't like to sit in heavy, wet soil because it could rot.

So, it needs well-draining, rich soil.

So today, we're going to start by adding compost to our planting bed.

We're going to do this through aeration rather than tilling because tilling can actually do more harm than good to our soil.

When choosing which variety of garlic to grow, don't choose varieties from your grocery store.

Reason being, these are often treated with growth suppressants to extend their shelf life, but that also means they won't then grow in your garden.

Today, we're planting Italian Late and Vietnamese Red, and you can find other unique selections at your local garden center or online.

When planting garlic, you're only planting a single clove.

Select the largest, plumpest cloves to plant and discard or cook with the smaller ones.

These smaller ones are likely to still grow, but they won't have the same stored energy to grow fast and large like the other ones.

Also, avoid planting any cloves that are puckered or shriveled.

If you find any, discard them.

Space each garlic clove six inches apart.

I like to lay everything over my planting bed before I plant to be sure I have enough room.

If you're planning to mulch after planting, your garlic should be planted three inches deep.

If you're not planning to mulch, go 5 to 6 inches.

It's also a good idea to mark where you planted, so you don't forget next spring.

Your garlic will begin to emerge next spring as the ground begins to thaw, probably around late March to early April.

The next time you'll need to intervene is when it begins to produce flower buds or scapes, and all you need to do is snap these off.

The reason that we do is so that the garlic puts all the energy back into the bulbs rather than trying to produce a flower, and the good news is you can cook with these as well.

Plan to harvest your garlic in early to mid-August as the leaves begin to turn brown.

You can learn how to harvest in this previous episode.

Using a hand trowel or pitchfork, dig about six inches away and straight down from the base of the stem.

Well, there you have it-- garlic heaven.

Once you start growing your own garlic at home, you will never buy it from a grocery store again.

Now, don't forget there is so much more to learn online at PBSWisconsin.org/ LetsGrowStuff.

There we have more videos, tips, tricks, and a blog to help you grow a better garden.

So, until next time, happy gardening.

- Funding for Let's Grow Stuff is provided by Ganshert Nursery & Landscapes, the Focus Fund for Wisconsin programs, and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.