Planting garlic: our tips for a successful harvest

Fall has begun. And although it may not immediately occur to you, it's time to plant garlic starting in October. Because planting in October means harvesting next year in June and July. But how do you do that? What do you need to take into account? We provide tips below!

The ideal time to plant garlic is October. The soil is still warm enough then and it's getting colder and wetter outside. But don't be fooled. It is also possible to plant garlic in November. As long as the ground is not frozen, you can get started. But why is it so important to plant garlic in the fall? Simple: the cloves need a period of cold, a certain number of days of low temperatures, to grow thicker in the spring. Without that period of cold, no thick garlic bulbs.

Garlic is a crop with a manual. Not difficult, but there are some things to consider. For example, soil is a very important factor for successful cultivation. This is because garlic needs a soil that drains water well. It hates stagnant water and will actually go moldy and rot when it does. A sand and sandy loam/loam soil is fine. Wet clay soils present a challenge. Then it can be useful to grow your garlic in raised trays or beds. In fact, you can easily fill these with compost, peat-free potting soil and sand, a very good combination to prevent standing water.

Now that it's clear what conditions garlic prefers to grow in, it's time to plant (or plant, as it's called in technical terms). How to do that is simple; there's even a good reminder. 10/10/10/10: that is, you plant garlic in October, about 10 inches apart and 10 inches deep. Easy, right? Of garlic, by the way, you plant the cloves, not the whole bulb. Because one clove will become one big bulb with several cloves next year. Put the cloves about 10 centimeters deep, so they sit firmly in the soil and later become large bulbs. Water, or wait for Mother Nature to open the floodgates.

Make sure you buy plant garlic. Avoid garlic from the supermarket, as they are often imported from abroad. In theory, you can also plant those cloves, but experience shows that those kinds of varieties come from warmer and drier areas and therefore are not really up to our wet winters. Plant garlic can be found everywhere in the fall. Such varieties are better adapted and also more likely to succeed.

So how should we proceed? We have put our toes in the ground, but what to do next? Above all, be patient. In the first few weeks after planting, the garlic starts to form shoots. You will see green sprigs sticking out of the ground. Sprigs reminiscent of chives or young onions and shallots. This is perfectly normal. The plant will grow short and go dormant during the winter months. You then won't see the plant grow again until when the weather gets warmer in March. Then the plant makes a growth spurt and the bulb gradually thickens as the days get longer and the temperature rises. From June and July, the plant's foliage turns yellowish, the time to harvest. By the way, the foliage should not be completely brown, as is the case with onions and shallots. 

Don't leave the soil uncovered during the winter months. That's a waste, and also not good for soil life. Mulch with straw, crushed garden and pruning debris and leaves, among other things: as long as it keeps your soil covered. That acts as a blanket between your plants, and with this plant that is no luxury. 

Did you know that there are special varieties in addition to the regular ones? For example, there is elephant garlic. A variety that produces garlic bulbs so large that the reference to an elephant is not at all crazy. The taste is slightly milder than the regular ones, despite the cloves being much larger. Highly recommended to experiment with and now quite commonly available online or from growers.

Not everyone has a large vegetable garden. Sometimes green fingers itch even in the city, on a terrace or balcony. Good news, because garlic can also be kept in a pot! Sounds crazy? No way, it's even very logical. In the pot you can perfectly control that no water stays stagnant. A drainage hole virtually eliminates that. Yes, the bulbs will end up staying a little smaller, but that's not a bad thing at all. Keep watering during the winter months, by the way, because a dry growing environment is disastrous for garlic. Also, make sure the pot is sturdy enough and not porous, as many terracotta pots are. You don't want the pot to crack. Avoid leaving the pot in an overflowing saucer during very wet periods. Remove the dish or turn it upside down to allow excess water to drain easily.