Garlic may be the perfect winter crop. Even north of Texas, it can be planted as long as the ground is still workable in the late fall - experts even recommend waiting until AFTER the first frost to poke your little cloves in the dirt. Start with fresh bulbs of ORGANIC garlic. Be sure you get organic, or the bulbs may be treated with growth inhibitors that prevent them from sprouting. This is convenient for grocery stores, but will mean no sprouting in ze garden for you! The bulbs below are organic cloves grown in California...obviously, NO growth inhibitors...
Separate bulbs into individual cloves. You don't have to be fussy or get all of the paper off. It is best to soak the bulbs for 4-12 hours in a dilute mixture of fish emulsion and baking soda. This will help prevent fungal infections in the soil while things get revved up and germinating...
We tried a wee garlic experiment this year: half of the crop was organic garlic grown in Cali that we bought at the local market, the other half was purchased at a local garden center for the purpose of raising a crop. We shall see:)
Here is the pre-soak - yes, it is a smelly mess but worth it~
Poke coves in garden beds about .5 - 1 inch under the ground. I (finally, blessedly!!) have loose soil, so I go closer to 1 inch or critters tend to dig at the fresh cloves... In about two weeks, sprouts look like what you see in the photo above, especially if you are still having warm, sunny daytime temperatures...This is why mid-November is ideal here in North Texas.
Even through all but the harshest of winter days, garlic will take a beating. If heavy and prolonged ice or super low temperatures and wind chill is expected, then a covering of light straw is good for the shoots...
Separate bulbs into individual cloves. You don't have to be fussy or get all of the paper off. It is best to soak the bulbs for 4-12 hours in a dilute mixture of fish emulsion and baking soda. This will help prevent fungal infections in the soil while things get revved up and germinating...
We tried a wee garlic experiment this year: half of the crop was organic garlic grown in Cali that we bought at the local market, the other half was purchased at a local garden center for the purpose of raising a crop. We shall see:)
Here is the pre-soak - yes, it is a smelly mess but worth it~
Poke coves in garden beds about .5 - 1 inch under the ground. I (finally, blessedly!!) have loose soil, so I go closer to 1 inch or critters tend to dig at the fresh cloves... In about two weeks, sprouts look like what you see in the photo above, especially if you are still having warm, sunny daytime temperatures...This is why mid-November is ideal here in North Texas.
Even through all but the harshest of winter days, garlic will take a beating. If heavy and prolonged ice or super low temperatures and wind chill is expected, then a covering of light straw is good for the shoots...In Late April, pull a few stalks up and wala~ whole, juicy, sweet garlic bulbs will have formed. As a well known medicinal plant, garlic will help your body fight infection naturally! Less imported foods right from the garden, less medicine, it ALL equals Guard'n the Planet~ GO TEAM~!!
ps, the tender green shoots are to die for in any recipe that calls for green onions or chives~~~! pss, you will never have to worry about vampires again:)
