Garlic

[Big-Al]

Anyone out there grow garlic? What variety? I grew german red. I had a banner year and am hoping to get next year's crop planted this week. I'm kind of glad it wasn't in the ground already since it may have started growing too much with the warm weather.

[pushbutton]

german red is a consistent grower in minnesota, you can also try music, armenian, polish white, merrifield rocambole, the list does on.....i am fortunate to have quite a few growers within an hour or so of where i live. once you eat fresh grown garlic, it is hard to go back to store bought!

[SkunkedAgain]

I was going to plant a few bulbs this fall. Admittedly I was just going to toss a few store-bought bulbs in the ground. Where can you get some of the good stuff in the Twin Cities?

[pushbutton]

hit up the farmers markets or the co-ops.

[Steve Foss]

We love garlic, but I've never had the garden space to grow it until now. I'll have to look up how long a growing season is required to see if it'll do well up here. Then I'll plant a couple rows in secret and when my wife sees it start coming up next spring it'll be a big and pleasant surprise.

[FishLocker]

Brownie points with the wife are ALWAYS a good idea

Cannot beat home grown grill roasted garlic on crackers...just be sure to cut the tips before grilling or they blow up in your grill, and believe me you DO NOT want to clean up THAT mess.

Good luck with your garlic.

[Big-Al]

Steve-

You will have no problem in Ely with the garlic. We planted in October and harvested about July 20 and had a bumper crop. And like everyone said, it is way better than what you buy in the store. We were eating the previous year's harvest right up until we harvested this year's so it kept great for us. I would hate to think what we would have spent on all the garlic we go through.

[Steve Foss]

Thanks, guys. We've gotten fresh garden garlic from other folks before. All the more reason I might need scientific notation to tally the brownie points with the wife next summer! I'll git er done! Gotta see which of the two local greenhouses/nurseries has garlic starts for sale.

[SkunkedAgain]

Okay so, what is the optimal planting time for garlic in Ely (for Steve) and the Twin Cities (for me)?

[pushbutton]

11:52 am, friday, oct 8th 2010....steve should plant his 6 minutes later .......depending on the weather, late sept/early oct should treat you right. just make sure you mulch them in good when she starts to get colder out.

[Steve Foss]

Yikes! We've had 60s all week, with 75 for a high today and 60s all weekend. Better pick up some garlic bulbs and plant them next week when it cools down.

[Big-Al]

My wife planted the garlic yesterday. She put in 330 cloves of German Red. Spaced 6" x 6" x 6" deep. Mulched 6" deep. The soil moisture finally got to where it was real nice to work. Sure love that stuff.

[Steve Foss]

I picked up some big bulbs of German extra hardy, and probably will get them in next week. We're looking at highs in the 50s and lows in the 30s, so even this week would be fine. Then some straw mulch and we'll be good to go.

[SkunkedAgain]

We'll see how well it goes, but I planted my garlic last night. We just had our first freeze in the Twin Cities.

[thatoneguy]

I do a ton of cooking with garlic, and would love to grow my own. Is it too late to plant (I live near Walker)? If it's not too late, where can I get some good bulbs? Any recommended varieties that produce well?

[SkunkedAgain]

If you read higher in the thread, I was advised to get some from a farmer's market which is what I did. I know that you can go online to buy.

It's pretty iffy to plant right now but I did it and we'll see what happens. I'm only out a few bucks in garlic if it fails! Give it a try.

[Steve Foss]

Ideally you plant it so it's got a few weeks before last freeze-up to develop a bit of root structure, and even a few leaf shoots might come up. That way it's got a nice head start come spring. But you can plant garlic as long as the ground isn't too frozen to dig. It just doesn't get as much of a head start. It does better when it winters over than when planted in spring. Just be sure to mulch it heavily with straw or leaves to protect it.

Mine hasn't gone in yet. I'm planting it this morning. We're looking at several days of sun, highs of about 50 and lows at or just below freezing.

Because I've waited a bit too long, I'll put in a coldframe with heavy clear plastic for the next couple weeks to help them along before I mulch them in for winter.

[SkunkedAgain]

Yeah, I'm leaving mine uncovered for the next week or so until the temperatures take the big dive. Then I'll toss all of the leaves on top.

[Steve Foss]

I just planted them. The soil still felt surprisingly warm to the touch, even three inches down. Coldframes will go on this afternoon. Should be OK.

[SkunkedAgain]

Foss / Big Al,

How's the garlic coming along? I've got green shoots coming about 6 inches out of my straw bed.

[Steve Foss]

They're about 3 inches tall right now.

[Big-Al]

I just removed the mulch today. They are up about 3 inches. I wanted to get it off earlier but could barely step foot in the garden.

[SkunkedAgain]

Great to hear. Maybe we'll all have to trade garlic out on Vermilion later this summer!

[Big-Al]

SkunkedAgain-

I would love to meet up and trade some garlic. Especially if it would also involve some walleyes.

After worrying about my crop early in the spring because of the wet conditions it seems to be coming along OK. I should have some trading material.

[SkunkedAgain]

Anyone getting ready to harvest their garlic?