Fall Garden Chores: Planting Garlic

I've grown my fair share of garlic in the past. It's only natural. I have giant obsession with the mild and delicious flavor that garlic scapes provide. I first found out about garlic scapes before I even started gardening. It was at my local farmers market. A very nice gentleman taught me all about them. I was instantly hooked!

Garlic Scapes

Every fall, I make sure I carve out one weekend in my schedule to spend planting up some garlic. I have very rocky soil here in zone 6a New England. So, instead of digging directly into the ground, I plant in raised beds. 

A photo taken of my garden on October 30, 2020

We ended up having an unexpectedly early snow storm on the last weekend of October. This is when I usually plant my garlic bulbs. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I ended up waiting a bit until the snow finally cleared. 

Once the snow cleared up and temperatures went back to a more normal number, the plan was set in motion. Fall cleanup began and I decided to move a few perennials from one of the back beds.

The Prep Work

I dug up some catnip plants that are about two years old. The catnip has been moved to one of my rose garden beds. Along with the catnip, I also have some perennial Penstemon plants. Those were also moved to a different garden bed. 

When the bed was finally empty, I amended it with some new soil and made sure any weeds that remained were pulled. This location receives full sun winter through spring. 

Cleaned up and ready to go.

We are at that point during fall where no matter how many leaves you clean up, there's still more falling from the trees. The ground stays clean for about half a day!

See those bricks in the back in the photo above? That was my anti-groundhog protection! The baby groundhogs were small enough to sneak through the fence! The groundhogs seem to have left. Now, we have a group of turkeys going through the neighborhood looking for snacks.  

Why do we plant garlic in fall? We actually plant garlic during the fall months because it is a plant that needs a cold cycle to perform well. 

Planting The Garlic

I decided to try something new this year. Hudson Valley Seeds offered a hardneck variety pack. I was having trouble trying to decide on which kind of garlic I wanted to plant. I figured this was a fun way to try some new varieties out and see what I liked. 

This variety pack came with three different types to try. I'm actually new to growing all of these varieties, so I'm very excited. 

German Extra Hardy: A porcelain type. Huge, easy-to-peel cloves. Great for northern zones 4-6. Giant cloves per head. Stores 6+ months.

Chesnok Red: A purple-stripe type. Makes excellent roasted garlic. 6-10 beautifully wrapped cloves per head. Stores for 4-6 months. 

Music: A porcelain type. Big as an opera. Very hardy and easy to grow. 4-6 large cloves per head. Stores 6+ months. 

Chesnok Red

Now, time to plant the garlic. So, you take your garlic bulb, like the Chesnok Red shown above. You unwrap it carefully. This bulb holds about 6-10 wrapped cloves.

Once you've separated your cloves, plant them 2 inches deep and around 6 inches apart. I like to do them in rows of 2 since they are in a raised bed.

A general rule of thumb for garlic is to space the rows around 12 inches apart. Since mine are planted in a bed, I do about 6 inches apart and my garlic tends to do okay like that. 

They like a nice drink of water once they are planted. After, I like to mulch them in with a nice layer of straw. I try to make the layer at least 1 inch thick for extra protection. 

This should keep them protected from those frosty days, and help keep the weeds away. If you don't have straw, you can also mulch them in with leaves. 

If you look at the picture shown here, you want to make sure to place the bulb with the pointy end tilted up.

And Now We Wait!

I had to beat the rain. So, tomorrow I may plant some alfalfa as a cover crop and then mulch in the top with my layer of straw. 

I can't wait to update you guys in Spring 2021 and let you all know how they are doing!

Did you plant garlic this fall?
Do you have a particular variety that's your favorite?

Tell me about it in the comment section below. As always, thank you for reading and happy gardening!

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