Garlic Harvest

When I was young, I never dreamed I would garden, and I certainly never thought I would be as enamored of something as I am of having harvested my very own garlic. What a wondrous thing, growing your own garlic. I always thought of it as an exotic, something that would never grow in my zone 4a garden.

But here it is, in all its glory.

Pictured are three of the four varieties I grew this year. I have practiced an enormous amount of restraint in not using the rest. My plan is to save it all until October, when it's time to plant again. Once I've planted what I need, I'll use whatever is left.

I planted twelve cloves of each variety: German Extra Hardy, Chrysalis Purple, Music and Siberian. I harvested twelve cloves of Siberian, eleven each of Chrysalis Purple and Music, and four of German Extra Hardy (all of which has been used, which is why it's not pictured).

I was surprised by the poor yield of the German. Part of the problem was overactive squirrels last autumn - about four cloves were dug up before I put on the straw mulch. However, I still should have gotten at least 6-8 cloves. But at least my decision about what to plant this fall is a bit easier.

In general, I was disappointed in the size of the cloves. I have a feeling it was because of our very hot and dry summer. Although I kept up with the watering, it seemed to me that the foliage of all the garlic plants turned brown very fast - much faster than I read about. I also harvested earlier than many other bloggers, but I felt I had to do it because the leaves had turned mostly brown.  In any case, we'll try again next year and see what happens.

Overall, Music and Chrysalis each had larger cloves, while Siberian yielded one extra clove. I think I'll probably plant all three varieties this fall and see how they do next year.

Comments

[Sissy]

What will you do with all that garlic??!! It looks awesome!

[Patrick]

Probably the reason for disappointing size is the garlic isn't acclimated to your garden yet. If you save the largest bulbs and cloves for replanting, within a few years you should be getting bulbs and cloves as big as you find anywhere else.

Your garlic looks great!

[Tracy]

Sissy: I'm not sure what I'll do with it all, yet. I'll need to save at least 12 cloves for planting in the fall, then the rest will probably go into tomato sauce, or get roasted and spread on homemade bread, or made into garlic soup . . . . Lot's of choices!

Patrick: Yes, that was what I was thinking, too. I'm looking forward to planting more this fall and eventually having "my own" garlic. Such a cool thing!

[Ali]

They are beautiful! I can't believe I haven't planted garlic yet. It just seems like the fall slips by and before I know it, it is too late.

Thanks for the report, I'll be thinking harder about planting it this fall. Tracy, we need a report on how each variety tastes. Surely a great project for an injured woman?

[Tracy]

Ali: Nothing could be easier than garlic. If you plant tulips, put in some garlic, too. Next spring after you take off the mulch, you just spread an inch or two of compost over it, keep it weeded, and voila, garlic!

I will definitely do some tasting soon, although I must admit I'm worried that once I dig into the bags, I won't be able to stop! I need to keep some for planting this fall if I'm going to develop garden-specific garlic.

[Deb]

I planted Music and German Extra Hardy last year, and was very pleased with the yield of both. I think Music may have done a little better. It's amazing how much juicier and tastier fresh garlic cloves are, but I'm restraining myself and trying to save the biggest heads for planting in October.

[Tracy]

Deb: Yep, I'm trying my best to keep my hands off the garlic until I've planted next year's crop. I put it in paper bags, then down in the pantry in the basement - anywhere I can't see it!