On Tue, 21 Oct 2003 14:57:26 -0400, John Bachman wrote:


Optimum sprouting temperature for garlic is 40F, so after you get your
garden cleaned up just plant the cloves. They will develop roots this
fall, then when the ground freezes (assuming you're in one of those
zones) they will go dormant. It's OK if they freeze, but to avoid having
the freeze/thaw cycles heave them out of the ground, mulch them.

You can plant garlic in the spring, but if it gets a head start from a
fall planting the heads will be larger.

The leaves are flat. About a month or two after they start growing they
will send up a flower stalk (around June in MA). It's round, so you can
tell it from a leaf. Break it off or it will inhibit bulb development.
You can chop up the flower stalk for cooking.

When the leaves are about 30-50% brown (late July in MA), dig up the
heads and place them somewhere to dry. Too much sunlight will make them
turn green (like potatoes), but some sunlight will keep mildew from
forming. If the heads grow too long in the ground the paper will split
and you will get dirt into the heads. Not a real problem except you have
to spend more time cleaning the garlic for food preparation and they
don't look as good.

Like all the alliums, garlic is a heavy feeder. Give it lots of
fertilizer and keep it watered well if the weather gets dry.

A friend gave me a sampler of garlics that she got when she attended a
garlic festival. The instructions that came with them are pretty much as
you describe except that it says no water after June 1.

John


That's how we do it in N.Y. We have a Garlic festival in the Hudson Valley
every year. I've yet to go to one though. I've been growing a little for
the past 5 years. Usually around 25 plants a year on average. Takes up a 1
X 4 foot space. I plant 2-3 inches apart and 2 inches deep.