My previous attempt at growing garlic was a complete and total bust. Last fall I took some grocery-store variety garlic cloves and stuck them in the ground. I was so happy when they sprouted. Alas, it was not meant to be. The garlic produced just a sad little single bulb that resembled a sad little onion.
The temporary defeat was not enough to deter me from trying again. So this year, I got serious. Very serious. Grocery story garlic obviously wasn't going to cut it so I placed an order for a hardneck garlic called Music. When it arrived I was astounded by the size of the cloves. They are truly giants.
I have a terrible habit of planting things will-nilly, wherever there's a spot available. It hasn't served me especially well. So this year I'm going with rows...plain old straight lines. And not only that, I brought out a measuring tape and measured precisely the distance between cloves. Surely the garlic will appreciate that.
I gave each planting hole a little sprinkle of blood and bone meal in hopes of giving the roots a running start. I think I've done everything right but it will be the spring of 2010 before I know for sure. Still, I think there's a garlic harvest in my future.
My previous attempt at growing garlic was a complete and total bust. Last fall I took some grocery-store variety garlic cloves and stuck them in the ground. I was so happy when they sprouted. Alas, it was not meant to be. The garlic produced just a sad little single bulb that resembled a sad little onion.
The temporary defeat was not enough to deter me from trying again. So this year, I got serious. Very serious. Grocery story garlic obviously wasn't going to cut it so I placed an order for a hardneck garlic called Music. When it arrived I was astounded by the size of the cloves. They are truly giants. 
I have a terrible habit of planting things will-nilly, wherever there's a spot available. It hasn't served me especially well. So this year I'm going with rows...plain old straight lines. And not only that, I brought out a measuring tape and measured precisely the distance between cloves. Surely the garlic will appreciate that. 
I gave each planting hole a little sprinkle of blood and bone meal in hopes of giving the roots a running start. I think I've done everything right but it will be the spring of 2010 before I know for sure. Still, I think there's a garlic harvest in my future.
5 comments:
Like you, I tried a couple of times without any luck. This year I planted Siberian Garlic, purchased from Eagle Creek Farms in Alberta - serious this time.
Lene
I was excited by the idea of trying to grow garlic this year in our new community garden plot. Thanks for warning me off the grocery store kind. I'll see what can be had by way of real garden garlic. Good luck with yours!
You've done what I did a couple of years ago .... and we got a wonderful crop! Good luck :)
Ahh, good for you....a true gardener always tries again!
What would life be like without garlic? Boring, indeed.
When you plant garlic make sure it is pointy end up at least 2"below soil. In our cold climate we have found after planting if you give the bulbs a blanket of mulch at least 4" this will help them over the winter. Good luck!!
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