Garlic is a great crop. My 'formula' for calculating how much i need to plant is extremely simple: i use on average one bulb a week, so i need 52. Calculate about 10% loss/failure, so i plant a round 60 cloves
Didn't watch this for the garlic. I was having a bad day and your soothing voice and cuteness always makes me feel better. And I did learn a bit about garlic. :) :)
Honey garlic is my winter medicine. Haven't been sick in YEARS!!! An apple a day keeps the doctor away. An apple, and a clove of garlic, keeps him WAY away!
I plant mine a bit deeper at the beginning of October - Lincolnshire. Also don’t bother buying expensive bulbs from garden centres, Just buy a few big bulbs from supermarket.
Thanks really helpful I love garlic so much, if a recipe says 2 cloves I add at least 4! I can eat several cooked whole bulbs just on their own. Maybe this is why I’m single😂
Guerrilla gardening works well with garlic. I like to cram garlic in between small berry bushes such as gooseberries. This saves space in my formal garden beds for row crops and also help prevent weeds.. also if you could do a video on how-to prune berry plants that would be awesome. Cheers!
My tiny garden is randomly planted like this...I just shove things in here and there in amongst edible weeds. It serves me well. And yet when I had all the children at home I was a typical 'row' gardener. It's nice to be a 'please yourself' gardener methinks 🥰.
Use it fresh and dried. Plant it in pots if you only have a balcony. I started gardening on a balcony. Now I have a 100m2 vegetable garden. Getting more and more vegetables and even small fruits out of the garden. I am becoming self-sufficient. Our grand parents did it. My garden is my bio shop.
Great tips, thanks Huw. I always followed my Granda's method of planting the bulbs at 2" inches apart, then by around May I can pull out the 'green garlics' in between each plant, this gives the remaining plants the space they need to form properly by August ish. This gives me two harvests of Garlic. I also think the 'green garlic' can often be stronger flavour.
I don't know why but we love garlic in Romania 😅 especially raw, uncooked. Even the spring green one, in soups and salads, heaven 😍 so many recipes, but the fresh pressed one mixed with olive oil, salt and fresh parsley goes great on a big juicy steak
Hi we're from the Philippines. Thanks for the informative video about garlic. We follow your tips about how to grow garlic and we love the results. We'll also upload it soon :)
I'm in zone 4 and we plant our garlic in the fall to harvest the following summer. Our winters are brutally cold and lots of snow and my garlic does awesome every year. The only thing I do is mulch it heavy before winter.
I'm in zone 4 Canada. I planted 177 cloves Oct 4 & 5. Diagonally, spaced 4"/10cm and 4"/10cm deep. The garlic bed is on a 4 year rotation. I cover them with straw when it gets colder, around early Nov. Our ground is usually frozen by Nov 20 and snow's down by early Dec. I must try that honey-garlic method with some of this years harvest!
Further south, Toronto, we get a lot of freeze thaw cycles so if I don't want the garlic heaving out of the soil it's got to go down at least 4 inches. My planting stick has a mark on it so it might be that the base of the cloves are at 5 inches. I only plant the biggest cloves. How deep Huw plants his, over here they'd be on top of the ground in the spring. Usually I plant after Thanksgiving but so far this year we've had no frost. Don't know when it's going to happen but the Nasturtiums have to flop down first since they are in the future garlic bed.
@@marvinkatt7807 That's wonderful. Garlic went in sometime after mid November last year. By planting them deep you also don't have to be overly concerned about watering. If you stick your finger into the soil 2 inches down and you feel moisture, then you know they are doing fine. That's my way of checking. They also won't sprout too early.
Thank you for a great guide :). My order of garlic sets got a bit messed up this year, and it cost too much to return so... I have 200+ cloves to plant, lol. We are two people in this household... Seeing this video made me realise I can actually plant them way way closer than I normally do, so it is one step closer to taking care of them all. A help much appreciated :) Those itty bitty cloves I sort out and plant in another bed (later on in containers indoors) and keep them just to harvest them as "spring onions" or garlic greens. So delicious and less of a waste, can't really squeeze much out of those cloves for a meal anyway.
Your garden looks spectacular. Thank you so much for your tips re garlic. It is wonderful to see such above average looking compost. As a compost maker of fifty years, I suggest you try adding some rice/split pea sized coarse sand or fine gravel to your compost after it is finished. Even one bucket per barrowload will do wonders. I am going to try unwashed beach sand this year for the first time, as sea water has the entire range of trace micronutrients, and most living things seems to enjoy a small amount of salt. I will see how the mix works with finer sand - I am expecting it to work well. Rodale reports that sea water has 78 elements in it.
Thank you for your great videos which contain so much practical knowledge and helpful visuals. I searched for this because I wasn't sure when to harvest my garlic. My question is answered and I'm glad I consulted you rather than yanking them out too early. We appreciate you!
Great tips. We grew and harvested our first garlic crop this season. It was a last minute decision so we used some grocery store bought organic soft neck garlic and they did great! We love growing our own food and each year we add more items to our list. We added garlic and it here to stay. Thanks for sharing.
Your videos are great! I have a lot of experience, but I can always learn something. In my country (Croatia), we braid the stalks of garlic and onions into braids about 1 m long. We tie the ends and hang them in a dry and airy place. Greetings!
That means that you're growing the soft neck garlic in Croatia (makes sense, because your winters are not so harsh), because the hard-neck one cannot be braded.
So helpful thanks! I'm currently going to grow my garlic with some spinach as a snail protecting system LOL got a serious snail hive going on this winter.. I need to exterminate
2-3 years back I lost a planting of certified seed stock garlic ( I think Lautrec Wight) they had a rot/underground infestation with fat grey aphid-types. (Perhaps too far north cold & wet). Had far better success with store-bought Spanish garlic (planted in a different location) ! I also found that the Spanish garlic left in the ground all year (after foliage died away) regenerated early in their second Spring with no soil interference.
My experience is to always keep the biggest and best bulbs for the next planting season. Cut roots off harvested garlic while it's still green, and make sure you remove scapes from the growing hardnecks as soon as you see them. Those can be stirfried.
Very intetesting. Did not know there were soft and hard neck varieties. Southern hemisphere grower here. Planted 300 cloves of elepant garlic back in late June. Elephant garlic doesn't get rust. Love it!
Its not garlic, but it is functionally garlic. It grows and is used like it but its not actually a leek like people say its its own allium family. @@dawnpettiglio6930
Thanks for the garlic planting reminder! I am going to actually have to buy garlic to plant this year, everything got nuked from orbit in the pacific northwest and my garlic and onions were roasted in the ground! 114 F (my weather app said the real feel, whatever that is, was 131)
I am still enjoying your book. The information and illuatrations are just so inspiring. Thank you for doing these vids which are content rich and helpful for new gardeners.
What an amazingly informative video. Thanks. Seems like my interest in trying to grow garlic has arisen at just the right time of year! You can never have too much garlic!
I've been growing garlic for a few years, but have had issues. You have answered all my questions and (I think!) solved all my problems. Thank you so much, Huw.
Garlic planting is on today's to-do list. Zone 2b and we have yet to have a frost (2 weeks overdue). Ground is cold and wet but it's worth it. Aiming for 60 to 70 hardnecks. Honey garlic sounds interesting and tasty! Thanks.
Perfect timing Huw, my garlic arrived today! I just can't decide whether to fill a whole bed, or plant around the outside edges of several beds to help deter pests from other crops.
Hello Huw. This is my first year cultivating garlic. I got elephant garlic. Here in my country, it is called "chilote garlic". It is from the south, very rainy and cold weather, oceanic weather. Lat -42,46 long -73,8. I am in a mild area and they are growing very well. Thanks for sharing and for your advice. See you.
Also delicious is to chop green garlic and store in sealed olive oil jars along with any small garlic bulbs. the longer you store the stronger the oil will taste of garlic. Quick and easy and yummy!
pickling and dehydrating are also great garlice preservation methods. just dont turn the dried cloves into garlic powder if you're not trying to create a jar of sawdust
Greetings from Cork, Ireland! Glad I watched this video because I am just about to go out and plant some garlic and that diagonal planting suggestion is great, thanks! I'll try that. Brilliant video all round, lots of other great info that I wished I'd known last year :D
We get down to -20F with many freezes and thaws here in the Midwest USA. When I plant I cover with just a touch of straw to insulate (making sure the sun can shine thru) and then covering with 4 mil clear plastic. The survivability of the bulbs jumps to near 95%. Started doing that after nearly losing my garlic and onions one particularly brutal winter.
Just planted about 60 cloves about 2 weeks ago. Can't wait to see how they do. 5 different kinds and hoping to get a good seed crop by mid summer so I can double the amount I plant next year. I love garlic.... 😃
That's very interesting. I'm trying to grow garlic, I live in Iceland, and I guess the climate is pretty similar to UK, maybe a a bit more cold. My fear is always the amount of rainy days. I'm growing Allium ampeloprasum var. Holmense too, without allicine. This last one is growing for now, but slowly if compared to normal garlic.
Estonia here Similar weather to you I highly recommend a cover of cut grass or straw to simply weeding If very wet land like me raised bed help Also earlier harvest and replanting than in English weather
I wouldn't let freshly harvested garlic lay on the sun at all. The bulbs get easily sunburned and the protective paper casing over the garlic head develops micro tears from the rapid drying, hence more chances for desease, fungus, early rot, etc.
Green part of garlic we use as we using garlic it self first using green leaves and then when garlic ready use that. in Mediterranean and Italian kitchen. And you can wash dry slice green leaves ASN in a bag add in freezer and simply you frozen as garlic flavouring your food. It will not freeze as block.
Use a cordless drill with a 7/8" paddle bit taped to mark 2.5" depth. I just put in 400 bulbs in roughly 35 minutes. Topped with compost and straw. If I had help, I could have knocked it out in 15 minutes.
Hi Huw, thanks for the very informative video, after watching it I have planted some garlic in a large pot! Fingers crossed I might get some fresh garlic to use during the winter!? I am also trying Ginger and Turmeric in large pots.
Brilliant thank you for your videos, I’m a no dig fan and so enjoy your extra input on specific things with more detail. Will be watching out for your next video. Heather
A great watch as always. I was actually staying in your area a few months ago. Beautiful area. You are blessed. Keep doing what you do Huw. From another welsh plot holder to another. Danny @ the grapevine allotment channel .
Awesome. Planted in both varieties in the staggered style a few days before i came across this vid. You've been subliminally messaging me haven't you? ;) (Not far from you here in Wales, so same zone i think). Thanks for the tips! Here's one in return... We used to pick a ton of wild garlic each spring from the local river near our old place in southern UK. Sadly haven't come across it here yet, but if you see some in spring- grab it! Usually grows near brooks and rivers and you can't miss the smell! Both the leaves and the unopened flower heads are stunningly delicious in salads and stir fries (or just used as normal garlic in recipes). Also makes a stunning addition to onion bajhis. It freezes well too so we didn't buy any shop-bought garlic all summer.
Love it! Thanks for the video this helps. I am planting my first crop of garlic soon! (I am in a cold climate).I ended up buying local organic Russian red garlic at an organic grocery store, was way cheaper than online. 😂
Thank you so much for this video, when I watched it it changed the way I grow garlic. I appreciate that this type of video is not beneficial for the algorithm. However I still miss them and wish there would be more. Especially for bulb fennel since I heard you say it is your favourite I figure you will know all the tricks.
Well garlic grower here and seller. To start with Elephant garlic is not garlic its a leek. I live in zone 4 for growing so while he is technically right about garlics doing better in warmer or cooler climates I have grown and still grow softnecks and creoles along with my hardnecks. And I have been getting 2.5 to 3 inch softneck and creole garlics on a late fall plant. I will be doing some experiments starting next year planting garlic within a week of harvesting in. I am of the opinion that in the wild garlic usually stays in the ground and comes up in the fall when its going to come up. We know that a slightly earlier planting, a couple weeks to a month earlier the garlic does not need as much watering the next year. This should mean that it got the chance to put down roots deeper. And in the USA the larger commercial growers were growing 4 inch. apart and while they got more pounds per acre when they got white root rot in the soil we they lost their business to smaller growers in the US like me and to china. I want larger bulbs and feel that a 6x6 in spacing does a good job for me. I have grown as big or bigger garlic than when I did 8x8 inch spacing. Some have mentioned picking scapes as quickly as they show. I like to let them go until they are about ready to straighten as I sell them to stores. Usually 3 weeks after the scapes are picked the garlic is ready to be harvested. Some have mentioned green garlic. Use the small cloves or grow hardneck bublis for these. And for how deep to plant. If the clove is an inch tall u want about an inch of dirt covering it. And put down mulch about 4 to 6 inch thick when you plant and if ur in a wetter climate or have more clay in ur soil u will want to pull the mulch off about the time u harvest scapes. This allows the soil to dry and be easier to harvest and to clean.
Just saw a scientific paper where they talked about white rot. It seems it can survive in the soil for over 10 years without hostplant. This means quite some time without allium in the garden.
What do you plant after you garlic??? And if so (how early do you start plugs for that) thank you!! Thank you for your videos, your garden is so lovely, love that you’ve been adding tons of flowers
Save the best of your garlic crop, separate the cloves, and plant the individual cloves for your next years crop. Mine have been going strong for many years, crop after crop! You have to snap the scapes off if you want your bulbs to be their largest. Garlic scapes are great in any meal, or chop and freeze them for winter use. Also, I wait until the most of the leaves are browning before harvesting my garlic.
Thank you Huv... i am also planning to cultivate garlic - i live in mountain area..where we have sun - rain - snow during season....looking to process garlic pickle...I also heard if you tie a loose knot of leaves of garlic plants together...garlic size grow...once again thank you for sharing your insight.
You must have incredible patience. I started young, with the trial and error method, and now I'm much,much older and learning better techniques from you.
