It’s Garlic Planting Day!
This year I’ve planted our garlic cloves a little earlier than I normally would. I had a bit of free time today and I was worried that it was now… or not quite never but certainly a while before I’d get round to it. There’s a definite nip in the air and the days are getting shorter so the timing feels right.
This year we’re growing two varieties: Solent Wight (which is what I’ve grown for the last few years – it’s reliable, tasty and stores well) and Rose Wight, which is totally new to me. I bought them from Kings Seeds and they’ve arrived well packaged and looking really healthy.
For the last couple of years, I’ve only grown softneck garlic but this year I’ve decided to go back to adding a hardneck into the mix. They don’t tend to store as well but we’ll use them up first… and really, the main reason that I’m growing them is so that I can harvest the delicious flower stalks known as ‘scapes’. Although we cook and prepare these in a few different ways, my favourite way to eat them is in place of garlic in our pesto (which we then freeze in bulk and use throughout the year). Not very original but there’s a reason lots of people love to do the same thing. Another bonus about the scapes is that they are always ready before the main bulbs are harvested so it always feels like a super early garlicky treat!
If you’re reading this, you probably already know how to plant garlic, but in case you don’t:
- Split the garlic bulb into cloves, being careful not to damage the plate at the bottom of each clove. This needs to be intact. I remember my first time planting garlic and I wasn’t sure if the paper skin had to be removed. Maybe I’m a bit daft and I’m the only one who considered this but, in case I’m not alone, leave the paper skin on the clove.
- Pick the sunniest spot and make the holes to pop the cloves into. You can use a dibber for this, but I just use whatever is to hand. Today it was a trowel. Pay close attention to your planting instructions – normally 20cm or so apart, 1-2 inches below the surface and leaving roughly 1ft between rows. If you plant them too closely together, they’ll be too cramped and your bulbs will be on the smaller side.
- Something I should say here though is that you have to think about your own space and circumstances. We have a relatively small growing space so I opt to plant my garlic a little closer together. I’d rather have more slightly smaller bulbs than fewer huge ones. It really all depends on your individual growing space.
- Give them a good water once planted (unless the soil is already quite wet… and if you’re in Scotland and you’re planting yours in autumn too, that’s likely to be the case) and thereafter only water in prolonged dry spells. I’ve found that garlic needs very little attention.
- I always top up my raised bed with some fresh compost or well-rotten manure around planting time (or a week or two before). I then give the plants a liquid seaweed feed in early spring.
I’ve grown in pots before and it’s totally fine although you should note that the bulbs will likely be on the smaller side. If they are in pots, it might help to sit/slightly sink it in to a spare patch of soil to give the roots a chance to pull up moisture from below. Although containers and pots can be handy (and essential for some growing spaces), they can dry out quickly so keep an eye on that. You want to keep the soil moist.
It’s likely that my garlic will be ready in late June/July.
If you have lots to spare and you’re looking for a treat in spring, I recommend pulling a couple up early and using them as ‘green garlic’. This basically means that you use the stalks and immature bulb a bit like you would a leek. I did this a couple of years ago. I chopped them all in one go and chucked them in a tub in the freezer (no other prep needed) and then grabbed handfuls to chuck in to stir fries, soups, stews and whatever else I happened to be cooking. Delicious!
