Best planting times: Garlic is best planted in mid-October for a bountiful harvest next summer. Exact best days vary depending on if you are in Chicago city (in Zone 6a, plant Oct. 17 to 31) or suburbs (in Zone 5b, plant Oct. 13 to 21), Garlic sprouts in spring and is harvested in July. Don’t plant garlic after the first day of freezing temperatures around Oct 30th. Check latest weather predictions of first night time freeze,. However garlic is relatively carefree when given a well-drained site, our compost as your soil, with full sun, good air circulation and worm castings as fertilizer.
Best cloves to plant: It’s worth the extra dollars sowing the biggest and healthiest organic garlic and shallot bulbs you can find. You’ll reap that much more when you harvest. There is a direct relationship between the size of bulbs and cloves you plant the size of the bulbs and cloves you’ll harvest.
Buy garlic to plant from farmers markets: Locally grown garlic is the best. We get our planting cloves from our current year’s crop or from a farmers market - using only the largest bulbs and large cloves. Last day for Oak Park Farmers Market is Oct. 25.
There are many varieties of garlic. A few good varieties are Carpathian, Inchelium Red, Idaho Silverskin and Persian Star, and the best sources of planting stock are mail-order and internet specialty seed companies and diverse garden centers.
Soil: Best to use our 100% microbe-rich compost as your soil. Every fallL enrich the soil with 2 inches of our microbe-rich compost. Don’t work it into the existing soil. Tilling and digging your soil for any reason other than planting seeds and seedlings damages microbial structures and the health of your soil. Add a half cup of worm castings as a fertilizer in each planting hole.
Planting: Best to plant large garlic cloves about 5-8 inches apart, root side down and pointy end up. You can plant a single row or several rows with four to eight inches between plants, planting at least 3 inches below the surface. Mulch with a good four inches of straw or shredded leaves. If you're not planning to mulch, sow at least five inches deep.
Care: In spring and early summer weeds can be invasive and should be controlled. Mulch the soil with straw or other organic materials soon after planting. This will also help to alleviate winter soil frost heaving that can damage new roots. Remove the straw once top growth is evident in the spring, or excess moisture may rot bulbs.
Remove any flower stalks (scapes) that emerge, as they can divert energy away from the bulbs. If allowed to mature to seed, they can reduce bulb size. Young garlic scapes are considered a garden delicacy and can be chopped into fresh salads.
Watering: Garlic needs consistent moisture to develop strong bulbs, especially during dry spells. Water deeply when the soil begins to dry out, but avoid keeping the soil soggy, as excessive moisture can cause rot. Fertilize with worm castings in early spring to boost nutrient availability. Once the bulbs begin to mature in early summer and the lower leaves start to yellow, stop watering completely to help the bulbs cure and prevent splitting.
Harvest: Harvest garlic before the tops completely die down, preferably with 4 to 6 green leaves still attached. Dig up the bulbs carefully, being careful not to damage them.
Storage: Remove excess soil, but do not wash, and lay whole plants on screens or hang in small bunches to dry. Allow it to cure completely in a warm, well-ventilated room, but not in direct sunlight. Watch for rotting bulbs, remove these and increase air circulation if needed using a box fan.
Curing will take about 4 to 6 weeks. After that, roots and tops can be trimmed, and outer dirty skins can be removed. Store cured garlic in a cool dry place. Remember all garlic varieties taste the same at harvest time, but after curing and a few weeks of storage time, individual variety flavors will come out.
