It’s garlic planting season! This is one of my favourite activities of the year: feeding the soil with goodies, tucking in the cloves, and putting it all to bed before the winter sets in. Garlic is an easy crop for beginners and is one of the first things to sprout in the spring!
Soil preparation:
Site your garlic bed in full sun, preferably in a raised bed to increase drainage – it thrives in well-drained, rich, loamy soil amended with lots of organic matter. Add 3 – 4 inches of well rotted compost, and an organic blended fertilizer:
Dig this all into the top 8 or so inches of the bed and rake.
Planting:
One clove of garlic will yield a whole bulb – the largest cloves generally make the biggest bulbs. Separate just before planting, and keep the skins on.
I like to place the cloves on top of the soil so I don’t get the spacing mixed up! Place with pointed end up, about 6 – 8 inches apart, across entire bed, then push the cloves down 2 inches deep and cover with soil.
Top the bed with one or two inches of mulch, such as straw or leaves. Because it rains so much on the coast and we don’t experience heavy frosts, heavier mulching isn’t recommended (soil will be too wet).
Leave the mulch on in the spring – the fresh green shoots will pop up right through it!
Happy Planting!