Now’s the Time to Plant Garlic and Onions

Garlic and onions are members of the allium family. They are well suited for planting in the fall and will produce a good crop come late spring into summer. Like other spring flowering bulbs, garlic and onions planted now will set roots and start to grow. As the soil temperature cools down, growth stops. When soil temperatures increase in the spring, the bulb will resume its growth cycle. 

There are many different varieties of garlic, all of which fall into two general categories, softneck and hardneck. Softneck garlic is the kind you will generally find in the grocery store. Softneck garlic has a mild flavor and generally stores well. Soft neck garlics have a flexible stalk which can be braided. 

Hardneck garlic also has a stalk –called a scape- which coils at the top. If left to mature, hardneck garlic will produce a flower which is several small bulbils, or tiny bulbs, which are edible. Hardnecks dry to a hard stem, hence the name. As a group, they have a deeper, richer flavor than softnecks do, but they don’t store as well as softneck garlic. 

Garlic and onions can be planted in traditional rows, in raised beds or scattered randomly in the perennial bed or rose garden.  Whichever you choose, be such and mark the planting site. 

 

Begin by selecting high quality seed garlic. Garlic purchased in grocery stores is often treated with sprout inhibitors, disrupting the growth cycle. Break the bulb into individual cloves. This is often referred to as “cracking” the bulb. Each clove should produce a bulb of 6-8 cloves. 

 

Garlic and onions like to be planted in full sun and well-drained soils, so incorporate an organic soil amendment such as Sheep, Peat, and Compost into your planting site. Once the soil has been amended incorporate some Bone Meal or Phosphate into your garlic bed. This will facilitate root development. 

Plant each garlic clove 3” to 4” deep, pointy end up and spaced 6” to 8” apart.  Plant onion bulbs 2” to 3” deep, 4" to 5” apart.  

 

Garlic needs a cold period of at least 40 days (about 1 and a half months). Otherwise, the bulb won’t set properly. This process is called vernalization, whereby the cold temperatures stress the seed, encouraging it to divide it into separate cloves.  

Come spring, when new shoots are about 3” high, side dress with Blood Meal. At 12-0-0, this will provide the Nitrogen garlic, shallots and onions need to grow and develop. 

Garlic and onions should be mulched in early winter, after the ground freezes. Around Thanksgiving, apply a 4” to 5” layer of mulch to the planting site. The mulch will hold in moisture and keep the ground cold and stable.  Soil Pep is a good choice for mulch as it can be worked into the ground after harvest.   

 

 

Softneck garlic planted now will usually be ready for harvest around July 4th. Dig softnecks when the leaves turn brown. Hardneck garlic will mature a little later in the season. They’re ready to harvest when the scapes straighten out.  

Onions are ready to harvest when the tops turn yellow and fall over. Green onions can be harvested earlier, before the bulbs start to form.  

  

How to Improve Your Garden with Fall Cover Crops

  

Planting a cover crop in the fall is an effective way to protect and improve your garden soil, through the off season.  Cover crops perform several functions including increasing soil organic matter, fixing nitrogen, breaking up compacted soils, suppressing weeds, acting as a living mulch, promoting, and protecting soil microbial activity.  

  

Cover crops are usually planted in the off-season, after harvest. Though often referred to as “green manure”, cover crops are the actual plants. They become green manure, once they are turned into the soil.  

  

Commonly, cover crops fall into two categories: legumes and fast-growing grasses.   

  

Both categories will add organic material to the soil, but legumes bring the added advantage of nitrogen fixing. The term nitrogen fixing refers to the plant’s ability to convert nitrogen from the air into a form useable by plants. When the cover crop worked into the soil, the nitrogen is released and becomes available for crops that are planted in the area.  Clover, fava beans, hairy vetch are effective, nitrogen fixing cover crops.  

  

Fast growing grasses are planted to add organic material as well as improve soil tilth and structure. This includes buckwheat, oats, and winter rye. These grasses develop deep root systems which helps aerate and reduce compaction, as well as protect soil microorganisms.  

  

The time to plant a cover crop is as you finish harvesting and clear your crops. Cover crops can be planted in portions, which makes it easy to start putting down seed even as other parts of the garden are still producing.

There’s no need to till the soil. Rake up the soil with a bow rake, scatter the seed by hand, then cover lightly. Cover crop seeds will germinate quickly in the warm soils of late summer, early fall. The key is to keep the seed moist. Cover crops require little maintenance, once germinated. The main thing to watch for is to make sure the crop doesn’t go to seed.  

  

In the spring, the crop needs to be turned into the ground. This can be accomplished by cutting down the crop with a mower or weed trimmer, or by digging it in with a garden fork or hoe.  

  

Cover crops are well suited for all gardens, both in-ground and raised beds. They provide cover and stability for your soil through the winter months and help improve soil structure and fertility for the spring and summer garden.