FALL GARLIC Planting

AUTUMN IS A GREAT TIME TO PLANT GARLIC.

- ZACH LOEKS

For many, fall is the right time for planting garlic. The garlic will overwinter nestled under the soil, and if you time it right, your bulbs will be ready right around July 4.

While garlic is easy to grow, you do need to follow a few, simple rules when planting it. Here are some key points to keep in mind for best results.

READY YOUR SOIL

Make sure the soil has been re-prepared in your Permabed by either broad-forking and raking or using a grub hoe to work the bed top and then rake. If you use a walking tractor or 4-wheel tractor, then you can power-harrow the bed top.

The bed top should be worked at least 2-3 inches deep for best planting efficiency. Why? Most hard-neck garlic is planted by hand, and you want to be able to easily put the garlic into the ground without dealing with hard-packed soil from a whole summer of growing compaction.

CHECK YOUR WIDTH

After the bed has been raked smooth, make sure it is wide enough to handle at least five rows of garlic 6 inches apart. If you have the space, you could even have six rows.