In most regions, fall is the best time of year to plant garlic after the autumnal equinox in late September, according to The Old Farmers Almanac. That’s also when Martha plants the garlic on her farm, as she recently shared on her blog that planting garlic in the fall allows for more time for the bulbs to develop peak amounts of flavor, enhancing all of your favorite summer dishes.
Martha recommends planting a variety of organic garlic that is safe for harvesting and eating. She includes Chesnok Red, Russian Red, Romanian Red, Armenian, Georgian Fire, Leningrad, and Elephant garlic. Planting a variety is important because some may turn out better than others, especially if it is your first time.
Here are Martha’s best tips for planting garlic in the fall for a successful harvest come summer.
How to Prepare Garlic Bulbs For Planting
Once you have your variety of garlic bulbs, look for the largest bulbs—these will be the best for harvesting. Carefully separate the heads of garlic into individual cloves, leaving the peel on the clove. Martha recommends saving the smaller cloves of garlic for eating and planting the larger cloves.
Courtesy of The Martha Blog
After you have segmented the biggest cloves from the garlic heads, treat them with a fish emulsion fertilizer solution that is available at garden supply stores. In a bucket with a strainer, mix the emulsion, one scoop of baking soda, and water to soak the cloves overnight. The soaking process cleanses the cloves of any possible diseases and is a fertilizer that will boost the growth of the garlic. Once they have soaked overnight, strain the cloves, and leave them out to dry.
Courtesy of The Martha Blog
Finally, spray the garlic with isopropyl or rubbing alcohol. This process helps to sterilize the cloves before planting them in the soil.
Martha says if you don’t have alcohol, you can also use hydrogen peroxide or vodka to sterilize the cloves before planting.
How to Plant Garlic
Once the garlic cloves have completely dried, you can begin planting. Martha says to plant in a garden bed with full sun exposure in straight rows with at least a foot in between rows. Dig a hole about four inches deep and six inches apart from one another. Place the garlic in the hole with the pointed end facing up and the root side facing down. Push the clove to the bottom of the hole. Then, fill the hole with soil.
Courtesy of The Martha Blog
Martha suggests placing stakes around the garden bed as a reminder to guests not to walk on the bed of garlic while it is growing.
When to Harvest Garlic
When planted in the fall, your garlic will be ready for harvest between the end of June through early August. Martha says there are a few signs that signal the garlic is ready for harvest: the lower leaves of the sprout will be brown and wilted, while the upper leaves will be green. Gently loosen the soil around each bulb and lift it by the base of the stalk.
Once you have finished harvesting your garlic, enjoy the rich flavor it will add to each dish—even more knowing you grew it yourself!
