It's about time I got around to part three of the now Garlic post trilogy.
As you can see the Monaro Purple hardneck garlic I planted in the Garlic pt. 2 post on the 31st of March is well and truly on its way.
After planting care After planting your garlic it will need a good watering and from there on the soil will need to be kept moist at the least.
While garlic will tolerate dry periods it will preform best if the soil they are growing in is kept moist.
Mulching is also important to garlic for two main reasons.
The first is to assist in the watering and keeping moist (prevent drying out of) the soil it is growing in .
Second is to help suppress weed growth.
I used straw and autumn leaves that I put through the chipper for my mulch, but any of the usual suspects will do.
I'd also recommend a dose of seaweed and fish emulsion at the beginning of each month just to keep them ticking along.
Click on photo for larger view.
Harvesting and storing garlic will happen sometime in lateish summer when the top of the leaves start to yellow but before they have died right back.Go easy when harvesting the bulbs as they do bruise easy leaving them open to rotting. It's also best if you can harvest during a dry period, so lay off the watering at least a week before harvesting if possible. This will help harden the bulbs and allow better storage.
To store, keep the leaves on the bulbs and don't separate the cloves until you need them, allow them two or three weeks to dry in an airy place out of direct sunlight.
And if you want to get really creative then you might like to try your hand at plaiting garlic softnecks only.
Finally growing problems, pest and diseases. The main issue with garlic is humidity which will go on to cause fungal disease.
If you are growing garlic in a high humidity area then space your plants a little further apart and plant and area that gets full sunshine all day.
Downy Mildew can be a problem in damp and overcast conditions. Treat accordingly or your favorite way.
There are several other problems that can occur, but if good crop rotation and plant maintenance is followed they should not be a problem.
Garlic is also good for you, so they say at Garlic Central
Garlic pt. 1
Garlic pt. 2
Well that's it for me. I could easily write a book on how to grow garlic but it's been done a few times already and I just wanted to put up and overview of growing garlic without going into too much detail.
Happy Garlic growing and if there are any questions then I'm only to happy to answer.
