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Started By
Message
Anyone on here grow garlic?
Posted on 10/22/25 at 12:25 pm
Posted on 10/22/25 at 12:25 pm
I am trying my hand at growing garlic this upcoming season. I got Lorz Italian and Elephant. Looking for some tips from seasoned growers outside the basics. Thanks
9
Posted on 10/22/25 at 12:55 pm to pensaNOLA
I grew some kind of Italian for a few years. I can tell you that in zone 9 I had MUCH more success planting early spring vs. overwintering them.
Also, garlic, and basil grow well together.
Also, garlic, and basil grow well together.
Posted on 10/22/25 at 1:33 pm to pensaNOLA
I tried a few different softnecks last year. Creole Red, Lorz, Themodrone and Blanco Piacenza.
First time growing garlic. From the reading it seemed like it would be easy enough.
I vernalized them in the fridge for 6-8 weeks as the seed cloves arrived. In hindsight; longer may have been better.
They grew; but, overall it was a massive disappointment. I probably didn’t feed them enough and the soil in the raised bed was a bit compact too. They are apparently nutrient hogs. Most failed to produce multiple cloves and instead grew like an onion with one single bulb. All were quite small.
The Thermadrone and Creole Red varieties did much better than the others. Larger and better developed.
I’m about to plant elephant garlic next week. Keep in mind it’s actually a member of the leek family and not a true garlic. In order to develop multiple cloves it takes two full years in most growing zones.
First time growing garlic. From the reading it seemed like it would be easy enough.
I vernalized them in the fridge for 6-8 weeks as the seed cloves arrived. In hindsight; longer may have been better.
They grew; but, overall it was a massive disappointment. I probably didn’t feed them enough and the soil in the raised bed was a bit compact too. They are apparently nutrient hogs. Most failed to produce multiple cloves and instead grew like an onion with one single bulb. All were quite small.
The Thermadrone and Creole Red varieties did much better than the others. Larger and better developed.
I’m about to plant elephant garlic next week. Keep in mind it’s actually a member of the leek family and not a true garlic. In order to develop multiple cloves it takes two full years in most growing zones.
This post was edited on 10/22/25 at 1:34 pm
Posted on 10/22/25 at 1:50 pm to pensaNOLA
There's really not much to growing garlic, especially if you are in Florida.
Plant it now and harvest it next summer. It will easily overwinter in a mild climate and not go dormant like it will in colder climates.
I grow in a raised bed with nice loose soil. When I get the seed cloves I break them apart and plant them about 2 inches deep and about 6 inches space all around each clove. In N.O., they don't go dormant in our mild winters but do slow down a bit.
When they are getting close to harvesting they send out "scapes" which are round growth that has a small bulb on top. I let them grow until the round stem starts to curve a bit and then I cut it off to use for cooking as it has a mild garlic flavor and is good in stir fry.
When mine were getting ready for harvest the leaves the plants produced started dying back and when they were just about done I waited for several days of dry weather and pulled the bulbs.
Once pulled I used a nylon brush to remove as much soil from the bulbs as I could and laid them out on a grate on my porch to air dry for several days. After all was dried out I cut off any growth from the top and snipped off the roots and stored the bulbs in a cool, dry place.
Plant it now and harvest it next summer. It will easily overwinter in a mild climate and not go dormant like it will in colder climates.
I grow in a raised bed with nice loose soil. When I get the seed cloves I break them apart and plant them about 2 inches deep and about 6 inches space all around each clove. In N.O., they don't go dormant in our mild winters but do slow down a bit.
When they are getting close to harvesting they send out "scapes" which are round growth that has a small bulb on top. I let them grow until the round stem starts to curve a bit and then I cut it off to use for cooking as it has a mild garlic flavor and is good in stir fry.
When mine were getting ready for harvest the leaves the plants produced started dying back and when they were just about done I waited for several days of dry weather and pulled the bulbs.
Once pulled I used a nylon brush to remove as much soil from the bulbs as I could and laid them out on a grate on my porch to air dry for several days. After all was dried out I cut off any growth from the top and snipped off the roots and stored the bulbs in a cool, dry place.
This post was edited on 10/22/25 at 1:52 pm
Posted on 10/22/25 at 8:12 pm to pensaNOLA
I have a patch that grows wild in our pasture every spring. Makes a great spaghetti
Posted on 10/22/25 at 9:28 pm to pensaNOLA
I bought a whole head of garlic today at walmart for 72cents.
just saying
just saying
Posted on 10/22/25 at 10:22 pm to pensaNOLA
Put your cloves in the ground now. Give them at least 6 to 9 inches between each clove and fertilize at planting - they're heavy feeders. Vernalizing hasn't made a difference - my opinion, the longer they're in the ground the better they'll make for a spring pull. Lorz Italian were my best producers out of three softnecks.
Posted on 10/23/25 at 8:38 am to Turnblad85
quote:
I bought a whole head of garlic today at walmart for 72cents.
I don't grow for cost savings, it cost more the way I do it if I am being honest. What I do grow for is better quality. That bland white garlic at Walmart does not compare to the varieties you can grow at home.
We need softneck garlic down here for the most part, I am trying a couple hard necks this year but my bulk planting will be soft necks.
Posted on 10/23/25 at 9:41 am to armsdealer
quote:
I do grow for is better quality.
admittedly, I don't have discerning tastes and I'm not a huge garlic fan. You could put 20 different garlics in front of me and I bet I'd say they all taste about the saem....especially if they were used in a dish.
Posted on 10/23/25 at 2:12 pm to armsdealer
quote:
I am trying a couple hard necks this year but my bulk planting will be soft necks.
Like I mentioned in a prior post. Some garlic forms "scapes" and it's only the hard neck varieties that do this. When cut in a timely manner, they can be used in salads, stir fry and other dishes as another herb for seasoning.
Harvest them when young and when the stems are circular. Once they go to straightening out they tend to get a little woodier and not suitable for the above.
Posted on 10/24/25 at 4:16 pm to pensaNOLA
Planted about 25 cloves last fall (South Dakota). How hard could it be?
2 grew in the spring.
Deer at them.
Should have used the 25 cloves for cooking.
2 grew in the spring.
Deer at them.
Should have used the 25 cloves for cooking.
Posted on 10/25/25 at 7:17 am to pensaNOLA
Planting today in cape cod, (I'm a couple weeks late but nbd)
Easiest thing ever to grow, love it.
I'm on 3rd or fourth gen, but it gets harder and harder not to cook with all of it so I'll probably be buying new seed next year.
Raised bed, loose soil, cover with straw, harvest when scapes begin to straighten and bottom leaves brown
Easiest thing ever to grow, love it.
I'm on 3rd or fourth gen, but it gets harder and harder not to cook with all of it so I'll probably be buying new seed next year.
Raised bed, loose soil, cover with straw, harvest when scapes begin to straighten and bottom leaves brown
Posted on 10/25/25 at 7:55 pm to wiltznucs
quote:
They grew; but, overall it was a massive disappointment. I probably didn’t feed them enough and the soil in the raised bed was a bit compact too. They are apparently nutrient hogs. Most failed to produce multiple cloves and instead grew like an onion with one single bulb. All were quite small.
I grew some last year for the first time and this was my experience too. Not quite as "set it and forget it" as I had envisioned.
Posted on 10/26/25 at 11:11 pm to pensaNOLA
I had a friend who grew garlic in containers. (Might have been whisky barrels)
He wanted to contain it so it would not become an invasive problem in his garden. He also wanted to be able to water and fertilize.
He wanted to contain it so it would not become an invasive problem in his garden. He also wanted to be able to water and fertilize.
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