Now that we’re all duly depressed over the upcoming frost, it’s time to start focusing on what the avid gardener can do to beat the fall/winter blues. As the powdery mildew overtakes the squash and the last of the harvest trickles in, I start looking to next year’s harvest and the first thing I do is plant next year’s garlic crop.
Last October, we planted a roughly 5×7 foot plot, and have been harvesting from it since early June. We dug the remainder–a full 5-gallon bucket full–and will dry the best of the bulbs for cold storage and blend the rest with oil & freeze for later use.
Here in Zone 5 (and just about anywhere that gets freezing temps in the winter), garlic should be fall-planted, usually in late September/early October. You Grow Girl has an interesting post about forcing garlic for spring planting that’s worth checking out, but I’ve never tried this method.
Garlic likes rich, fast-draining soil, so I usually add compost in the fall before planting and then again in the early spring when the garlic first sprouts (usually in February), and I turn the soil in the bed after I harvest so that it’s nice and loose before the new cloves go in. An in-depth overview of soil amendment and care of garlic can be found on the Boundary Garlic Farm site.
Garlic can be block planted on a 3-4 inch grid, or row planted with individual cloves planted 3 inches apart and rows about a foot apart, depending on your weeding preferences. I don’t water much in the fall and winter, aside from perhaps piling some snow on the beds if I remember, but if we have a dry February, I will water once a month or so until it warms up, when I put about an inch a week on the bed to keep it evenly moist.
As the sprouts grow, you can start to harvest them as green garlic, which can be used like a slightly spicy green onion. If you grow hard-necked garlic, you’ll also get scapes, which are the garlic’s flower stalks, which can be cut and used in stir fries & pesto. Be sure to cut these, even if you don’t want to eat them, so that the garlic plant will put its energy into making nice big bulbs instead of flowers. If you want more information about the differences between hard-necked and soft-necked garlic, check out the Natural Food Gardener’s description of different varieties of garlic.
Once the green shoots begin to brown in late June/early July, stop watering the garlic so that it can begin to harden off. When the green shoots brown completely, you can start digging the garlic and dry it for storage. This can happen any time from about August through September, keeping in mind that if you get lots of moisture during this period, the bulbs can begin to rot. Turn the soil, add an inch of compost, and you’re ready to plant again.
If you want to grow your own garlic, I recommend getting your seed garlic from the local Farmer’s Market because you get the benefit of the farmer’s experiences with what grows well in your region and you keep your dollars local too! However, if you either don’t have a good local source, or want to experiment with more varieties, I have purchased organic seed garlic both from Seeds of Change and Hood River Garlic and have been happy with their product and service.
Homegrown garlic is not only easy to grow, but can give the anxious gardener something fun to do in October to take their mind off of the dismal end of the garden season 
Enjoy!
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