{"id":1252,"date":"2015-10-15T01:58:20","date_gmt":"2015-10-15T01:58:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/?p=1252"},"modified":"2015-10-15T01:58:20","modified_gmt":"2015-10-15T01:58:20","slug":"planting-garlic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/?p=1252","title":{"rendered":"Planting Garlic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Growing garlic is a very easy task that requires very little space, very little preparation, and very little time (depending on how many you are planting, of course).\u00a0 There are two main types of garlic &#8211; softneck and hardneck.\u00a0 Usually the hardneck varieties are best grown where winters get cold and the softneck varieties grow best in mild winters &#8211; though they are pretty hardy no matter what.\u00a0 Hardneck varieties have bigger cloves and stronger flavor.\u00a0 Softneck varieties often have small cloves that are harder to peel, but have a milder taste.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-1252 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-medium'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"225\" height=\"300\" src=\"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_3200-e1444614367652-225x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1248\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_3200-e1444614367652-225x300.jpg 225w, http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_3200-e1444614367652-768x1024.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_3200-e1444614367652-113x150.jpg 113w, http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_3200-e1444614367652-400x533.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1248'>\n\t\t\t\tKids talking and separating cloves.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"225\" height=\"300\" src=\"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_3197-e1444615202642-225x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1246\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_3197-e1444615202642-225x300.jpg 225w, http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_3197-e1444615202642-768x1024.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_3197-e1444615202642-113x150.jpg 113w, http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_3197-e1444615202642-400x533.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1246'>\n\t\t\t\tFurrow ready to be filled in\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"225\" height=\"300\" src=\"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_3199-e1444614410396-225x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1247\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_3199-e1444614410396-225x300.jpg 225w, http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_3199-e1444614410396-768x1024.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_3199-e1444614410396-113x150.jpg 113w, http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_3199-e1444614410396-400x533.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1247'>\n\t\t\t\tDigging the next row and filling the original.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"225\" height=\"300\" src=\"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_3202-e1444613877686-225x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1249\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_3202-e1444613877686-225x300.jpg 225w, http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_3202-e1444613877686-768x1024.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_3202-e1444613877686-113x150.jpg 113w, http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_3202-e1444613877686-400x533.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1249'>\n\t\t\t\tMy eldest son planting.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"225\" height=\"300\" src=\"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_3204-e1444614255271-225x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1250\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_3204-e1444614255271-225x300.jpg 225w, http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_3204-e1444614255271-768x1024.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_3204-e1444614255271-113x150.jpg 113w, http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_3204-e1444614255271-400x533.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1250'>\n\t\t\t\tWe found a rock to help little ones with spacing.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl>\n\t\t\t<br style='clear: both' \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>I like to lay down rabbit manure or aged compost to the area I am about to plant in.\u00a0 As I plant one row, already dug, I begin digging the next\u00a0 row, filling the previous trench I just planted, with compost from the new row I am digging.\u00a0 This mixes the dirt and manure without thought. Make sure the soil is loose in the entire planting area &#8211; pretty deep too.\u00a0 Soil that compacts will prohibit growth. \u00a0 I make my garlic beds about 3-3.5ft wide. I feel that is a nice width for my personal preferences, having to consider how hard it&#8217;ll be to reach the middle of the bed for weeding or other care.<\/p>\n<p>For my 25 ft. rows, I planted approximately 4-5 big heads of garlic per row.\u00a0\u00a0 All the kids gathered together to separate the garlic heads into cloves, then we found a rock to space them about 2-4 inches apart, rows about 5-10 inches apart.\u00a0 The pictures above seem to show the cloves a lot closer than that, but there was a lot of paper from the garlic heads that fell into the trenches, too.\u00a0 We dug a little trench to place the cloves in, pointy side up planted at a depth of about 2 inches.\u00a0 If you prefer making individual holes or aren&#8217;t planting a ton and don&#8217;t mind individual holes, a dibble is a great tool to use.\u00a0 Simply insert it to the proper depth (measurements are often on the tool) and it makes a hole for you.\u00a0 Use one wide enough to easily slide a garlic clove into the resulting hole.\u00a0 I made mine using dowel rod, cut to length, a point whittled and sanded, measurements woodburned in, stained then sprayed with a protective coating.\u00a0 Of course, fingers work just fine too.<\/p>\n<p>For garlic to grow well, it needs loose, well drained soil.\u00a0 Ideally you want to plant 2-4 weeks before the first frost (growing through winter encourages bigger bulbs) so that they can develop roots but not too much top growth.\u00a0 Cover your newly planted garlic with 4-6 inches of mulch such as straw, grass clippings, leaves, etc.\u00a0 The garlic will still grow through it and cuts down on weeds.<\/p>\n<p>In the spring, when the garlic sends up shoots, fertilizer is beneficial.\u00a0 Some like to fertilize again around May, then you will harvest usually early to mid summer.\u00a0 Keep the weeds at bay and make sure the soil stays moist, but not soaking wet or the garlic will rot.\u00a0 If you are growing a hardneck variety, be sure to cut off the &#8216;scape&#8217; when it grows (they are great to eat &#8211; sautee them to add a mild garlic flavor to your food) so your bulb will grow larger.\u00a0 Itty bitty garlic cloves can be grown closely together and you can trim the resulting shoots and use like you would chives (I hate waste, so I&#8217;ll plant every single clove in one way or another, LOL).<\/p>\n<p>I wait until most of the green garlic leaves have yellowed before thinking about harvesting.\u00a0 This way the papery skins have a chance to toughen up before they are removed from the dirt.\u00a0 Don&#8217;t pull them up &#8211; gently dig them up with your fingers or a small shovel.\u00a0 I like to keep the stems on and braid them to dry them for a while once they are out of the ground.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Growing garlic is a very easy task that requires very little space, very little preparation, and very little time (depending on how many you are planting, of course). There are two main types of garlic &#8211; softneck and hardneck. Usually the hardneck varieties are best grown where winters get cold and the softneck varieties grow [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[20,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1252"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1252"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1252\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2057,"href":"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1252\/revisions\/2057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}