Harvesting some garlic.A far cry from doing 3 to 4000 lbs.After moving south I’ve scaled way back……….still a love/hate relationship .
Growing hardneck garlic ( grows a scape) just a touch to far south to get the size I used to get in the north east.
I grew some German white,some garlic I got at a roadside stand from Argentina and my family’s signature strain,Gambinos Italian Purpleskin.My father claimed he had garlic in his pocket when he came thru Ellis Island.Cornell University sent to Sicily and got some and tested it against what we had.And it was identical 50 plus years later.He got to name it.Talk about an old man with a chubber OMG I never seen him so excited.
Garlic is planted in the fall.Ive seen people planting it in the early spring with decent results.But in my experience fall planting is best.I’ve grown a lot of garlic in the past 50 years.If you have any questions hit me up.
GARLIC N GANJA it’s all we grow. J/k I grow other stuff
@thecount13 , that doesn’t sound right.Before I moved south from NYS I would plant in October and harvest in second to third week of July.Now in SC I plant in November and harvest the second week of June.
I m inclined to think your leaving it in the ground to long.Garlic left that long would have split skin and toe(clove) separation.,that doesn’t store well.
Are you growing hardneck garlic (grows a scape)or softneck garlic?Most garlic is a 7-8 month crop.
Go to your patch and pull one or two and take a photo and let me see what you have.Also let me know what part of the country you live in,ex: NE-SE - etc.After I see that intel I will have a understanding and can better advise you.Let me know.
Growing hardneck red Russian and romainen. Live in the upper peninsula of Michigan. Had a neighbor that planted in the fall and harvested in the summer. They seem to be nice cloves when I do harvest.
Your weather would be similar to where I grew most of my garlic in NY,about 2 hours SE of Buffalo..That being said I will tell you exactly how I grew my garlic.
Late September/October- plant your garlic,use the biggest cloves.
Mulch with leaves first,then mulch with straw..Garlic doesn’t compete well with weeds.By time weeds establish the garlic is near done.
In spring apply fertilizer such as 10-10-10 or any you have on hand when garlic is about 4” tall. Do this only once.
Around late May early June scapes with appear.They need to be picked off so plant can focus all its energy to the garlic bulb.IMO you can never get all the scapes.The scapes are very good to eat and will keep for about 2 months in the fridge.I do 2 things with them ,
1- make a pesto in the blender with extra virgin olive oil and cracked black pepper.Then freeze it in ice cube trays.Once frozen I transfer them to a ziplock bag or container.Use as you would the garlic cloves.I like them best with mashed potatoes.
2- google the recipe for dilly beans and substitute the scapes in for the beans.You can thank me later.
Now approximately 5 - 6 weeks after scapes were picked your garlic should be ready for harvest. Pull one and check .Ideally the garlic bulb should have 5 - 7 paper skins for best storage.
I have never harvested garlic past July.
Rotate your garlic patch if you have the room.,every year.
See pics /one will show you a bulb harvested late and one will show the correct harvested bulb.
The rocamole strains your grow are great ones.if you like to change it up try, music or German White or Red.
I rotate my crop each yr. Only plant 50 to 60 cloves. Not even close to any signs of scapes. I side dress between the rows with compost. I will have to try to better use my scapes. thanks happy growing
@Hopalong , sure can grow it there.The better the soil the better the garlic.
If you decide to buy garlic at the store,it can be hit or miss. Sometimes it’s difficult to tell if the garlic is hardneck or softneck..Hardneck does better in places with cold winters and softneck does better in places with mild winters.
DO NOT BUY ANY GARLIC WITH NO ROOTS SHOWING,their origin uses bad fertilizer practices.Human stuff. You’ll see both in stores.
I was under the impression that if you buy from a store that they spray the garlic with something that prolongs the self life of the garlic. I believe that you should use garlic that has not been sprayed. Some what like potatoes use seed certified for best results..
@thecount13 ,agreed.In my experience garlic from South America was good.Especially from Argentina.I grow only two varieties,German White and Italian Purple Skin.But I often see different varieties at roadside stands and get a pound or two and try it just to see what it does.ex; the garlic from Argentina grew just like any other garlic then one day it just fell over.I’ve never seen that before.I checked a few and t hey were done. I let them go another week then pulled them.It a nice strain red stripes all thru the skin, big cloves.
Pretty much everything gets sprayed with some sort of chemical.Potato’s are the worst .they spray to kill the foliage,because it jams up the harvest machinery.then they spray the harvested potatoes with a anti-sprouting chemical.then sell the poison to us.
How does one get garlic bulbs from France? Any companies is US sell. Most of my bulbs come from Burpee. How many bulbs do you plant each yr? Do you use of some of past yr. harvest as new plants?
Garlic from France I don’t know how you could get some but I’ll look into it.
I plant about 20 pounds now ,when my family was growing I alone would plant around 7 to 800 pounds.
We save the biggest and best to plant in the fall.
I’m going to look into some garlic vendors I know still in the business and get the intel so you or anyone can get some seed from them .ill post it here,with varieties they have.
I didn’t recognize but one vendor at the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival.Anyway I googled garlic festivals in the UP of Michigan.If the link doesn’t show.Google garlic festivals in the UP.
My family has sold a lot of garlic to people in Michigan. So I’m sure there is a farmers market near you .My apologies,I’ve been away from the garlic business for a long time. Hope this helps.
I think you will like it. Very pretty finished grow just like ganja. Big cloves .Easy to grow as well. Besides the two strains I’ve grown since Moby Dick was a minnow,Italian Purple Skin and German White.The strains I like are Spanish Roma ,German Red, Music.Actually any hardneck will be perfect for your area.Hardneck does better in cold winters,and soft neck(no scapes) does better in warmer climates.
Before I dumped facebook I was on a garlic forum. I posted a few videos and braiding tips. You may want to check it out.Good,nice people there.Very similar to this one.
The small Purple Heart I honored a SF’s veteran who got blown up somewhere in the Middle East.He got incredibly emotional and said he never felt more appreciated and honored in his military career.I got the blessing no doubt.Guess I did a good thing.Im still smiling when I think about it. USA
.
