Growing Garlic In your Garden

Garlic From the Garden

Growing Garlic In Your Garden

Recently it was time to harvest the garlic that I planted last fall. I planted them the previous year at the end of Sept / Oct (PRO TIP: this is the ideal time to plant your garlic to avoid the first frost of the year when the soil becomes too hard to plant)! You too can be an expert at growing garlic in your garden!

PLANTING INSTRUCTIONS

I start this growing garlic process by purchasing elephant garlic (usually sold at Dean’s Nursery or Thyme Place or a place like Giant Eagle/Heinen’s.

Mark where you want the garlic to grow (I'd recommend a well-sunlit area and plenty of space) and clear some soil. PRO TIP: deer do not eat garlic, so no worries about deer getting into it if you don't have a fenced-in garden!

To prep for planting, remove the white outer layers of skin off the garlic. Separate the garlic pieces from the bulb. The key is to plant each individual garlic piece with the bottom of each piece facing down in the hole. You'll want to go about thumb deep for each particular garlic hole. I also recommend a palm-width spacing between each hole as well!

Once in the ground, cover all holes with soil. If you have leaves nearby you can also add leaves on top of the soil (optional but does help to protect the soil).

Garlic grows underground (like potatoes)! Check back on your garden in the springtime, usually toward the end of May is when they'll be ready to be dug up! You will see green leaves sprout out of the ground, when these leaves turn yellow is when they're ready for uprooting.

I will use a simple garden tool to dig around and uproot these garlic bulbs once I see the leaves turn yellow. Next, I will clean, wash and keep the white outer skin on the garlic for a longer shelf-life. Garlic can be kept in the refrigerator or on the counter in a bowl.

I use garlic often as an addition to boiled green beans drained and salted, and add cut-up pieces of garlic as a side dish.

Garlic can be added to homemade meatballs before cooking and directly inside your spaghetti sauce! I will also use garlic, and cut up small in ground meat when it is cooking, to make taco meat.

Growing garlic in your garden is very easy! Send me your pictures of your turn-out!

Enjoy! Happy Eating!