Plant Your Own Exotic Garlic
Garlic comes in an assortment of different kinds that you normally will not find in an ordinary grocery chain. Each has its own flavor. If you like ordinary porcelain and silverskin garlic you are sure to love the flavor of some of the more exotic varieties. If you have rich soil and a good amount of sunshine to use to your advantage, you might as well give growing your own a try. The process is fairly simple.
1. Determine which types of garlic you are interested in planting. There are generally two types: softneck varieties and hardneck varieties. Softneck varieties do well in most any climate, reach maturity rather swiftly and tend to produce more than hardneck varieties do. Hardnecks should be planted in colder climates.
2. Plant during the fall, approximately one month before the ground freezes. Choose a location with full sunlight. Raised beds are perfect as good drainage is needed. Garlic can be planted in large barrels. Up to nine months is required to reach maturity; keep this in mind when choosing your planting location.
3. Each individual clove will mature into a bulb. If you want to grow luscious bulbs, be sure to use firm, good sized cloves and avoid planting the dried out, shriveled up cloves. To deter fungal development, soak your cloves in a mixture containing one quart of water and one tablespoon of baking soda for at least an hour before planting.
4. Make a furrow two inches deep in the soil using a gardening hoe. Place the cloves pointed end up about four to six inches apart and in rows one foot to a foot and a half apart. Cover with two inches of soil and add a six inch layer of organic mulch over them. Straw or shredded leaves will suffice.
5. You should see green shoots within four to six weeks; there will be no growth over the winter. Once the garlic resumes growth in the spring, scoop off the mulch and place an inch of compost on top of the soil. Replace the mulch. This will discourage weeds and help retain proper moisture levels.
6. During the growth seasons, garlic will require an inch of water regularly. In addition, you should spray a diluted fish emulsion on the plants every other week from the time growth resumes throughout the month of May.
7. The fruits of your labor will result in an early summer harvest; leaves at the bottom of the plants will turn yellow. Loosen the soil with a gardening fork, being extremely cautious not to poke the bulbs and damage them. Pull the garlic bulbs up and brush off any excess dirt.
8. Allow the bulbs to cure by laying them in a hot, dry and shady area for two to three weeks. This process extends the storage life of your harvest. Skins will be paper dry and tight around the garlic bulb when properly cured. Finally, trim the roots and carefully braid the stems. Another option is to trim off everything but and inch and a half of the stem if you plan to use ventilated plastic bags for storage.
Garlic can be stored for six to eight months. Be sure to plant enough garlic to hold you through until the next year’s harvest. Once you grow accustomed to having your own fresh, exotic garlic you will not want to return to plain grocery store varieties.
