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About Appeal tribune. (Silverton, Or.) 1999-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 10, 2018)
SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM ܂ WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2018 ܂ 3B October is best month to plant garlic Gardening Carol Savonen Guest columnist Question: I’d like to grow garlic. Do I still have time to plant some in my gar- den? What kinds do you recommend? Thanks. Answer: October is the best month to plant garlic in your garden in western Oregon. There are several types of garlic to choose from - non-flowering (soft neck), top-setting (hard neck) and ele- phant garlic (a type of leek) are among those available from nurseries or stores. Most commercially-grown garlic va- rieties are the non-flowering softneck types, including Silver, California Early, California Late and Creole. This type does not produce a flowering scape in the late spring. “Top-setting” garlic, sometimes also called “hard stem,” “hard neck,” Italian Silver Skin or Rocambole garlic, is most popular with home gardeners, including myself. It often has darker or purple- tinged skin. Most importantly, I think top-setting or hard stem garlic has a richer, more pungent flavor than non- flowering types. An added bonus with hard neck va- rieties is that they produce a scape, or stem with a flower bud in the spring. This tall flowering stalk is mild tasting and can be harvested and stir-fried and eaten like asparagus or as a flavorful ad- dition to many dishes. Then in the fall, hard neck garlic also bears a fat under- ground bulb of cloves. Elephant garlic produces large, mild- tasting cloves, usually fewer per bulb than the true garlics. All types of garlic thrive in full sun in well-drained organic soil - a rich sandy, silty loam is best. If you have heavier clay soil, make raised beds that are 2 to 3 feet wide and at least 10 to 12 inches deep. Be sure to add plenty of compost. Garlic plants have well-developed root systems that may grow more than three feet deep in well-drained soil. Lime the soil prior to final bed shap- ing if you haven’t done so recently. Be- fore planting garlic cloves, work in a couple tablespoons of 5-10-10 complete fertilizer, bone meal, or fish meal into the soil several inches below where the base of the garlic will rest. Select healthy large cloves, free of disease. The largest cloves will produce the largest bulbs next year. If your garlic suffered from disease this year, choose a different bed and don’t replant the cloves produced this past season. Buy disease-free planting stock from a local nursery. Plant your garlic cloves root side down, 1 1/2 to 2 inches deep and up to 6 inches apart in rows spaced 10 to 14 inches apart. Space elephant garlic cloves farther apart. Garlic plants will benefit from a light mulch to protect the October is the best month to plant garlic in your garden in Western Oregon. ROBERT DALY/GETTY IMAGES soil surface from pummeling winter rains. Mulch will also reduce weeds. A single 10-foot row of garlic should yield about 5 pounds of the fragrant bulbs. Garlic is rarely damaged by insects. Come next early spring, fertilize your young garlic plants by side dressing or broadcasting with blood meal or other source of nitrogen. Just before the bulbs begin to swell in response to lengthen- ing daylight (usually early-May), fertil- ize lightly one more time. Keep garlic well weeded, as it cannot stand much competition. As the spring weather dries out, water garlic to a depth of 2 feet every 8 to 10 days. As mid-June approaches, taper off on the watering to encourage the papery skin to thicken. Around late May, start checking your garlic for maturity. Sometimes garlic bulbs will be ready to harvest when the leaves are still green. The best way to know if garlic is ready to pull from the ground is to pull one up and cut it open cross-wise. Don’t wait for the leaves to start to die back to check for maturity, or your garlic may become overmature. When the head is divided into plump cloves and the skin covering the outside of the bulbs is thick, dry and papery it is time to harvest. If you leave your garlic in the ground too long, the bulbs sometimes split apart and become difficult to harvest as intact heads. 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Brush dirt off the bulbs. To braid garlic together, harvest it a bit earlier while leaves are green and sup- ple. Store bulbs in a dark, dry, well-venti- lated place. Protect from high humidity and freezing. The refrigerator is not the place to store garlic - the cold temper- ature stimulates sprouting. 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