Try growing your own garlic in the fall

Czech garlic is the best. Many Czechs agree with this statement. Imported garlic usually does not have the right taste and strength. Garlic in stores is usually plane and contains only a fraction of the nutrients that it should have. Growing your own garlic is not difficult, but you need to follow few rules. Start growing garlic this autumn, and you will get a rich harvest next year!

When should you grow garlic during the autumn?

If you decide to start growing garlic in autumn, you should begin when the soil temperature is below 9°C. This is roughly from October to December, providing that you live in Central Europe. If the temperatures are higher, various fungal diseases could attack your seedlings. There are two advantages if you plant in the fall: garlic will have time to take root over the winter, it will have enough moisture in the spring and it will be easier to dry the garlic thoroughly during the summer.

Photo: Pixabay

How to start?

Choose a lighter soil that is not too moist. It should be rich in humus, but freshly fertilized soil is not suitable either. Plant healthy cloves to a depth of approximately 6 centimetres. There are many opinions about the correct depth, but the rule of thumb says, the earlier you plant, the deeper you should plant. If you plant in September, the depth should be 8 cm, but in December, 4 cm should be enough. Plant cloves 5 cm to 12 cm apart in rows 20 cm to 40 cm apart. It also depends on the variety you plant. After planting, cover cloves with soil and slightly compact the soil and water lightly. There is no more to do until the spring.

In the spring…

Your garlic should germinate only during the spring. As soon as the leaves reach a height of about 15 centimetres, work the soil with a pitchfork to aerate it, but do not dig to deep. Water from mid-May to mid-June. Watering during this time is necessary and beneficial. If you find bulbils on hardneck garlic click them off immediately as they reduce the harvest.

Harvest

Usually, you can harvest from July to August. If you have hardneck garlic that produces flower heads (varieties that produce bulbils), you should harvest when there are five fleshy leaves left. Varieties without flower heads simply lay down their leaves on the ground. When you see half of the leaves lying down on the ground, you can start harvesting.

Photo: Pixabay