Garlic is a relatively easy plant to grow and quite satisfying too. If you are looking for advice on how to grow garlic, I’ve got lots of tips to get you started, right from how to plant garlic to how to grow garlic in pots, so please read on to find out more.
Did you know there are two main types of garlic, known as hardneck and softneck garlic?
Softneck garlic is most likely to be the variety found in UK supermarkets. It produces smaller, more tightly packed cloves, but these will store for much longer – up to a year in a cool, dark place after drying out.
Hardneck garlic is most suited to growing in the UK’s climate as it is more resilient. It will produce fewer cloves but these will be much larger. Hardneck garlic has a stronger flavour. Of the two varieties, it doesn’t store as well, likely to only be good until about mid-winter.
How To Grow Garlic
Garlic needs a relatively long growing season, so you are best of planting your garlic bulbs from October to December. Although if you are looking to plant in Springtime, you can do so, you’ll just need to look out for varieties like Marco or French Garlic varieties Edenrose and Cristo which can be planted right up until March time.
How To Plant Garlic
Before you start planting your garlic, it’ll be best to decide on a spot for your garlic to go. Garlic likes a warm, sunny spot, where it drains well in the winter. Garlic doesn’t like to get waterlogged. Garlic can be grown directly into the ground or in pots or containers.
Prepare your ground or pot by clearing the area of any leftover summer plants or weeds and then dig in some compost or well-rotted manure.
You may be wondering how to grow garlic from a clove, and essentially you can, but not one you get from the supermarket. You are better to use a proper garlic seed bulb which has been bought at a garden centre. Most varieties found in the supermarket aren’t suitable for growing in climates like the UK, you could also sow something that might have a virus in it and you’ll get a much better harvest from a proper garlic seed bulb.
Once you have your seed bulb, you can break this up into separate cloves and pop them into the space you prepared. Pop the bigger, wider end downwards and the pointy end upwards. They should be planted approximately 1 inch below the surface.
How To Grow Garlic In Pots
If you prefer, you can easily grow garlic in a pot or container. You’ll need to choose a pot or container which is at least 15cm wide and the same again deep. In a pot or around 15cm wide, you can sow three garlic cloves.
Watering and Feeding Garlic
Garlic is actually pretty low maintenance. You should water your garlic regularly during Spring and Summer, but you should slow down the watering when the leaves start to turn yellow as this means the plant is maturing. If the variety you have chosen flowers at any point, you should remove these as it will affect the size and quality of your garlic. You can eat the garlic flowers though.
If you have grown garlic in a pot, you are best to feed them when they start to show strong growth, usually around April time. You can use a high-nitrogen feed every couple of weeks.
Harvesting Garlic
So you’ve read all about how to grow your garlic, and perhaps you’ve had some success with your plants, but now you need to know all about how to harvest garlic. Depending on when you planted your garlic, it will be ready to harvest between May and September. You’ll know it’s time when the leaves of the plant turn yellow.
You’ll need to be quite careful when harvesting your garlic. You are best to gently lift out your garlic with a trowel or fork. You’ll need to leave the garlic to dry out to be able to store it. Choose a sunny spot and lay it out to sunbathe for a couple of days. Once they have dried out and they feel sort of like paper, you can store them in a cool, dry place. They will keep for a few months, up to a year, depending on the variety you have chosen.
So has the idea of growing garlic interested you? If you were looking for a plant that’s relatively easy to grow, garlic could be a solid choice. I’d love to know what you think of my piece on how to grow garlic and if there are any growing tips I have missed. Which varieties will you be growing this year?
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