In climates with long growing seasons, capsicum and tomatoes also are good candidates for planting after garlic or onions. In cooler climates, Chinese cabbage or pak choi may be the perfect choice.
We use buckwheat before garlic. It will deter weed growth and add lots of organic matter to the soil. Planted early enough in the spring it is possible to get two crops out of one seeding. Simply let the buckwheat go to seed and mature fully and knock it down and work it lightly into the soil.
Garlic can be grown as a perennial, providing garlic every year. However, because it is grown for its bulbs, it is usually grown as an annual and replanted each year.
Garlic does not produce true seed but is propagated by planting cloves, which are the small bulblets or segments making up the garlic bulb. Each bulb usually contains a dozen or more cloves; each clove is planted separately. Select only larger outer cloves of the best garlic bulbs for planting.
If left to mature, the seed pod at the end of the scape will produce small bulbils (essentially tiny, undivided bulbs—like baby plants, or clones of the parent) that can be planted to produce more garlic.
Because garlic plants do not produce true seeds, propagating garlic involves planting individual cloves in the soil. A garlic bulb contains cloves that will germinate beneath the soil when you plant them. Propagate garlic during the cool months of the growing season to enable it to grow while the soil remains cooler.
Fertilize garlic in the early spring by side dressing or broadcasting with blood meal, pelleted chicken manure or a synthetic source of nitrogen. Just before the bulbs begin to swell in response to lengthening daylight (usually early May), fertilize lightly one more time.
Tie the top of the stalks with string in bundles of five to ten and hang them bulb down in a dark, dry and well-ventilated place for about three weeks.
Whole garlic bulbs will last 3 to 6 months when properly stored away from heat and humidity. Keep the papery layers on the bulbs intact; they help prevent moisture from reaching the cloves.
By cutting off the scape you are asking the plant to send all of it's energy in to increasing the bulb size, rather than in putting energy toward flowers and seed. Since the bulb is what we eat, we recommend cutting the scape.
Other alliums Garlic is a member of the allium family and should not be planted alongside any other members of the same family (including onions and leeks) as this may encourage onion maggots - not something you want in your kitchen garden ideas if it can be avoided.
Underplanting fruit trees with garlic helps the tree repel pests such as fruit tree bore, aphids and mites. It is also thought that the tree roots absorb sulfur produced by the garlic, making the tree more resistant to fungus, mold and black spot. Consider planting garlic under your fruit tree this fall.
The key to proper curing is providing good air circulation between the bulbs. Don't spread them out in the sun. Garlic is susceptible to sunburn and can literally cook under the sun, which deteriorates flavor. So you want to minimize the amount of direct sunlight it gets during the curing process.
Cutting a garlic clove breaks its cells and releases stored enzymes that react with oxygen. That triggers healthy sulfide compounds, such as allicin, to form. Letting the chopped garlic stand for 10 to 15 minutes before cooking allows the compounds to fully develop before heat inactivates the enzymes.
Curing garlic is an essential element of the harvesting process. Here, we explore all methods used to cure hardneck and softneck varieties! Grow a garlic crop, and you'll have a garlic harvest. Then it's time to preserve the flavor and shelf life by curing garlic bulbs.
Fork through some compost, or cow manure or other organic manure before planting. Some organic fertiliser such as concentrated manure pellets helps to get the garlic off to a good start. Once the soil is prepared then WAIT for a couple of weeks before planting.
Garlic loves rich organic soil, so make sure you dig in well-rotted manure or blood and bone. The soil should also be light, airy and friable.
Soil pH and fertility
Garlic grows best in well-drained, moisture-retentive soil with pH between 6.0 and 7.0. Improve your soil's organic matter content by adding well-rotted manure or compost in spring or fall.
What happens if you plant a whole garlic bulb? If you plant a whole garlic bulb instead of separating the head into its individual cloves and planting each separately, the plants will not have room to develop properly. The result is likely to be very small garlic plants that fail to mature into multiple cloves.
One bulb of garlic when broken into cloves and planted can reap 10-20 bulbs harvested. Not only for keen gardeners with lots of garden space, garlic can be easily planted in a pot on a patio or even a doorstep!
Garlic is one of the best companion plants for flowers because it is a natural pest repellent. For example, rose pests hate the smell of garlic! Insects like aphids, ants, mites, snails, and even blackspot fungi will avoid the strong scent of garlic. Garlic can also deter pests away from geraniums.