Time to Plant Bulbs...Garlic, that is!

Once you've tidied up your garden beds for the winter, make time for one more task: Planting bulbs. There is nothing like spring flowers and summer garlic. Yes, plant some garlic bulbs now for more flavorful cooking next summer.

Garlic is more than just a versatile, indispensable kitchen seasoning. Garlic has many health benefits that include antioxidant properties, promoting the health of the heart and immune systems. Garlic even has been shown to reduce cholesterol.

As a companion, garlic is super. Garlic (along with other “fragrant” crops like onions, chives, and some herbs) repel insects or mask the scents of tasty crops that attract insects. Planting garlic among your other crops may well deter pesky pests from your vegetables. Planted at the base of peach trees, it repels borers.

Garlic (Allium sativum) is a hardy, perennial member of the onion family. Unlike onions, garlic plants produce a number of small bulbs called cloves rather than one large bulb containing multiple layers.

Beneath garlic's papery-thin, white skin are a dozen or so cloves. The larger outer cloves produce the best garlic.

Variety...the spice of life and Garlic comes in dozens of varieties. They fall into three major categories:

Elephant (great-headed) garlic has a mild flavor, somewhat like garlic and onions together. The large bulb has few cloves.

• Mild-flavored, cold-hardy stiffneck varieties, with cloves surrounding a thick central stem that curls as it grows. Stiffneck varieties don't store as well as others.
• For garlic you can braid for storage, choose a softneck variety. The "necks" stay soft once harvested which allows for braiding.

Don't plant bulbs from the garlic you buy at the grocers. Some is treated so that it won't sprout, and you won't know what variety it is.

Timing is key: Garlic should be planted before the ground freezes. It won't take long for the cloves to begin establishing roots and sending out shoots before the ground freezes. The winter cold is needed for bulbing (formation of side buds) the following year that will grow to make the new cloves you'll harvest next summer.
Location, Location, Location... Garlic enjoys basking in the sun. Choose a spot that has not grown onions in the past few years. Plant in well-drained, weed-free soil, such as a raised bed in slightly dry soil.
A Few Do's and Don'ts:

• Do plant only the healthiest garlic cloves. The larger the cloves, the larger the bulbs next year.
• Do not divide the bulbs into cloves until you are ready to plant them.
• Do keep the papery husks on the cloves.

Plant the cloves three to five inches apart and about an inch deep in an upright position (clove root down) to ensure a straight neck.
For every pound of garlic cloves that you plant, you may yield from 8 to 10 pounds of garlic next summer.
Mulch It! Garlic appreciates a 6” thick, warm blanket of straw mulch applied around Thanksgiving. Remove the mulch in the spring, leaving just a bit to keep the weeds down.
Water to keep your garlic from drying out over the winter. In the spring, remove the mulch. Water deeply as needed, especially on sandy soils. Apply an inch or so of compost around the bulbs.
Harvest
Garlic greens, known as “scapes” are a bit spicy and a nice addition when cooking vegetables. Clip those any time to direct more of the plant's energy down towards the bulb.
Begin checking your garlic after July 4th when you notice that the foliage is beginning to die off. Once the foliage beging to die back, check a bulb. If it's too soon, the cloves won't be segmented yet. If you wait too long, your garlic with shed the papery sheaths that cover the clove segments and they won't store properly. Ideal harvest is when you find about 3 layers covering the bulb.
Dig out under the bulbs for an easier harvest. Pull the entire plant out of the soil and let air-dry in the shade to avoid direct sunlight which may scald the bulbs. Dry thoroughly for 3 to 4 weeks to prolong storage.
Storage: Once your garlic is dry, dust any remaining soil off the bulbs. If you grew softneck garlic, braid the tops and hang. Otherwise, remove the tops by clipping them about 1 inch above the bulb. Trim off the roots.

Ideal conditions are a cool (50 to 65 degrees F), dry, and well-ventilated area. Check your garlic monthly and discard any soft bulbs that may be rotting internally. Set aside the largest cloves for planting again in fall.
If you've never planted garlic before, try planting some this year. ...and remember, when on a date, two servings of garlic cancel each other out! (If you're the only one enjoying a garlicky dish, munch on some parsley to freshen your breath.)

Resources:
Companion plants: http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/compplant.html
Garlic: http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/garlic.html
RI Vegetable Planting Calendar: http://www.urimga.org/RIVegPlantingGrid.pdf
Garlic for Disease Control: http://www.nevegetable.org/index.php/crops/garlic?start=3