If you can do it, planting in the fall is the best time to plant garlic. In this area, southern Ohio, mid October is good as it gives you about 6 weeks before a freeze. Planting at this time will give the garlic time to establish roots, but generally not enough time to develope green tops. You may get some top growth, if you get a warm period, but that will not harm your galic. YBy planting in the fall you can expect your garlic to be one of the first things in your garden to emerge!
While easy to grow, garlic will do best with some prep work. You want a deep, loose bed with plenty of compost to plant your garlic in. A PH just below 7 is ideal. For the biggest bulbs, fertilize your garlic every couple of weeks, and provide 1 inch of water each week. Note, if you are raising in a soiless bed you may have to water every couple of days. Moist soil is good, but it must drain well, don't leave your garlic in a puddle!
Plant each clove separately (pointy end up) about 2 to 3 inches deep and 6 inches apart. If you are planting elephant garlic you may want to space plants 9 inches apart. Mulch with about 5 inches of straw. (You can also use leaves or grass clippings, but the garlic may have trouble pushing up through this.) The mulch will pack down over winter and help prevent weeds in the spring. You should not have to remove the straw in the spring.
When your garlic comes up in the spring you can begin to fertlize. You must also keep the weeds out. Weeds can ruin your crop!
In the spring, start looking for new garlic growth as the ground thaws. Check to make sure the mulch you applied is not too compacted. You can lift it to see if there is growth underneath and if too compacted, loosen up and replace.
Fertlize with a good source of nitrogen, for example chicken manure, feathermeal, blood meal, etc. or a blended fertilizer. Stop fertilizing right before the garlic scapes emerge, generally early in June.
Wether you eat them or not, remove the scapes after the first curl. If you do not remove them your bulb sizes will be smaller.
WEED WEED WEED. Keep the weeds under control for larger bulbs.
Good job! Good storage starts with a good harvest. You want to harvest your garlic when there are only 4 – 5 green leaves still on the plant (half the leaves are dead). You will remove the outer green leaf to clean the bulb and the remaining layers will be the protective layers to help your garlic store longer.
Do not bang, throw, drop, step on, or treat your garlic roughly. While it is not fragile, any minor damage will magnify quickly and shorten the storage time of your garlic.
Cure your garlic in a dry location with ventilation at about 70 degrees. Ventilation is key, so if you do not have natural ventilation get the air moving with fans. After 2-4 weeks the leaves should be brown and dry. Cut off the leaves at about 6 inches and make sure they are dry inside. If so your garlic is cured and ready to store. Fans are no longer needed after this.
You can now store your garlic in your basement or a root cellar (if you are lucky enough to have one!) at 35-60 degrees and roughly 50% humidity. Do not allow to freeze!
Eating or planting, storing is much the same. Cool temperatures and no light!
Did you buy from us? Upon receiving your garlic, open it up and pull out the packing. You can store your garlic in the open box you received the garlic in your basement or other cool location, away from light. Periodically check cloves for firmness. If they are not firm it is time to use them or plant them.
Whole bulbs of garlic can keep for 6-12 months or more when stored at room temperature in a dry, dark place that has ample air circulation. Keep in mind, that garlic's lifetime decreases once you start removing cloves from the bulb. If you are waiting to plant your garlic, open your box, take out any packing materials and keep in your basement, in your house, or any cool dry place with plenty of good air flow. If you are waiting to plant your garlic, keep your garlic in normal everyday household temperatures. Do not allow air to constantly flow on your garlic as it will dry out. DO NOT STORE IN PLASTIC OR IN A SEALED CONTAINER WITHOUT AIR FLOW!
You can store garlic in a paper or mesh bag in your pantry. Keep out of the light and keep them dry. Check periodically for firmness and use any that at starting to soften first.
Can you refrigerate garlic? YES! Store in a brown paper bag and only take out what you need at the time. If you take it all out and try to store out of the refrigerator it will quickly sprout in the warmer temperatures and go bad.