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How To Grow Garlic & ShallotsHardneck Garlic, Softneck Garlic, Elephant Garlic & Shallot CultureGarlic is exceptionally Winter-hardy. Fall is the time to plant it for the best yields and the highest quality garlic bulbs. Plant garlic September through early January, depending upon your climate, and expect to harvest garlic around July. In very cold areas, plant garlic by mid-October. To learn more about how to plant and grow garlic, we recommend Growing Great Garlic , by Ron Engeland, 213 pages, softcover (BF340). Preparing Soil for Growing Garlic Garlic prefers sandy loam soil, but grows well in nearly any well-drained, slightly acidic (6-7 pH), fertile soil. The looser the composition of the soil, the larger your garlic will grow. Prepare your garlic bed by turning under or tilling in compost (be sure to use compost that is fully aerobically broken down and contains animal manures and plant residues, rather than cedar or redwood). Make sure your soil has ample phosphorus also. Take care not to plant garlic in the same place you've previously grown garlic or onions, because of the potential for spreading diseases like white rot. Gophers love garlic; protect your beds with gopher wire or traps. Planting Garlic & Growing Garlic You will receive whole garlic bulbs from us, but you will be planting the garlic cloves (the sections of the bulb). Since there is a correlation between clove size & the harvested garlic bulb size, only plant large cloves. Use the small cloves for eating or preserving. First "crack" the garlic bulb (separate the cloves for planting). Once you have cracked the bulbs, plant within 5-7 days so that the cloves do not dry out. Plant your garlic cloves root end (blunt end) down. Plant both Elephant garlic and standard garlic in rows spaced 18" apart. Within the row, Elephant garlic cloves should be 8"-9" apart, standard garlic cloves should be 4" to 6" apart. The cloves should have about 2" of soil over them. It is a good idea to mulch the garlic after you have planted it. Leaves, compost or broken-down manure make good mulches. In the south, a light mulch will suffice, but in cold northern areas, up to 8" of mulch is required. Water the garlic well and only water again when the soil is dry. Remember, garlic loves water and food, but it must have good drainage or it will rot. In the Spring, feed the garlic with either composted manure or a well-balanced fertilizer before the bulbs begin to enlarge. Keep the weeds away from your garlic at all times; you either grow weeds or garlic, but not both! Moisture is also a critical factor in the Spring; watch your soil moisture levels and irrigate accordingly. Garlic may send up a flower stalk in the Spring. In this case, snip the flower off immediately. If you let the garlic go to seed, you will end up harvesting smaller bulbs. Harvesting Garlic & Storing Harvest when the foliage falls on softnecks, or when the bottom leaves dry out on hardnecks. When the garlic leaves turn, around July, stop irrigating for 2 weeks and then pull up the plant and immediately put it in a shady place to cure. Regardless of what you read elsewhere, do not leave your garlic in the sun, because it will sunburn and rot. A good way to cure garlic is to tie it in bunches or braid it (if it is a softneck garlic) and hang it in a dark place where it will receive good air circulation. Cure Elephant garlic for thirty days before eating it. "Green" Elephant garlic is bitter. Standard garlic takes less time to cure and becomes stronger tasting with age, rather than milder tasting like Elephant garlic. Hardneck varieties typically will only store for 6 months or less. You can store your garlic in mesh bags (like onion sacks) in a cool dry area. The optimum storage temperature is 50°F, and the relative humidity should be below 60%. If some of your bulbs turn out onion-like, ie do not divide into cloves, you can eat them or use them as seed for next year. Preparing Soil For Shallots Shallots are very tolerant and can be grown in acidic soil down to 5 pH, but prefer 6.0-6.8 pH. Plant in fertile, well-drained soil. The looser the composition of the soil, the larger your shallots will grow. Prepare your shallot bed by turning under or tilling in compost (be sure to use compost that is fully aerobically broken down and contains animal manures and plant residues, rather than cedar or redwood). Make sure your soil has ample phosphorus. Gophers love shallots as much as they like garlic; protect your beds with gopher wire or traps. Planting Shallots & Growing Shallots Shallots are planted from bulbs, rather than cloves like Garlic. Separate multiple bulbs and plant each individual bulb, root end down. Space shallot seeds 6"-8" apart with 10"-12" between rows. Plant just deep enough so that the tip lies level with the soil surface. Unlike garlic which forms a bulb from a clove, shallots will form a cluster of 5-12 bulbs around the original bulb. This cluster will spread out more than a garlic bulb and therefore requires more space between plants. Do not use mulch as it may rot bulbs, which are not strong enough to push through mulch. After planting shallots, water well or lightly in heavy soils, and only water again when the soil is dry. Remember, shallots love water and food, but they must have good drainage or the bulbs will rot. In the Spring, feed the shallots with either composted manure or a well-balanced fertilizer before the bulbs begin to enlarge. Keep the bulbs well watered and weeded; they grow best with at least 1" of water per week. Remove any seed stalks that form to focus the shallots' energy into forming bulbs. Shallots should be Spring planted in very cold areas. Harvesting Shallots & Storage Harvest the shallots when the tops are drying. Pull up the clusters and cure in a warm but shady place with ventilation. Regardless of what you read elsewhere, do not leave your shallots in the sun to cure, because they might sunburn and rot. Store your shallots in mesh bags (like onion sacks) in a cool dry area. They can be stored for up to 8 months if kept at their optimum storage temperature of 35°-45°F. We warrant to the extent of the purchase price only that the seeds or plants sold hereunder are as described on the label within recognized tolerances. No other warranty is given, expressed or implied, (1) of the merchantability or fitness of the seeds or plants for any particular purpose, or (2) against loss due to any cause. We cannot accept any responsibility for the many uncontrollable growing and climatic conditions (soil preparation, fertilization, weed and pest control, temperature control, irrigation…etc.) that must be met to insure the success of your crop(s).
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