Please tell me about garlic

[KY Doug]

My cousin just gave me some garlic and some garlic seeds. I'm excited about getting some herbs started! Can I plant the seeds now? My cousin seems to think you need to wait until Oct/Nov although he is not sure. Do they need more sun or shade? I've got a container with composted rabbit droppings just inside the tree line (mostly shade) that I would like to use. Will that work? Anything else I should know?

On another note, We just got 10 Dominicker (sp) chicks this morning. A great way to start the day!

Thanks,

Doug

[NoClue]

I've never grown garlic from seed. The bulbs should be planted in the fall or early spring. I usually plant some at both times. They prefer full sun, but I've successfully planted them between rows of tomatoes (for pest control) and they've done ok.

[wy_white_wolf]

Visit http://www.wegrowgarlic.com/

[Old John]

Garlic is s'posed to be good for keeping the Vampires away.
I eat a lot of Garlic..........
Never seen any Vampires, around my house.
So it must work, hunnh.
Garlic is great!

[Woodroe]

Plant garlic cloves around Halloween here and harvest in July.

[turtlehead]

I've never grown garlic from seed but it's my understanding it takes a few years to get decent garlic if you start from seeds. The usual way is to plant single cloves with the "root" end down and the "pointy" end up. Don't peel them completely. Put them 1" to 2" into the ground, depending on how deep and hard it freezes where you are. Plant them in October. Garlic needs a good cold dormant season if it is to make decent sized bulbs the next year. Mulch well, so that the garlic cloves don't "heave" up with repeated freeze/thaw cycles.

In the early spring you'll see little garlic shoots sprouting up. If you see little bulbs or flowers forming, pinch them off as the plant will put all its energy into these rather than forming a bulb below ground. The little bulb/flower things are called scapes and you should cut them early. They are good in stir fry or you can blend them in the blender with a little oil (like a garlic scape pesto), freeze that in ice cube trays, and store the cubes in your freezer. The cubes are great for dropping into spaghetti sauce or thawing for dipping warm crusty bread into with Italian dinners.

Dig up your garlic when the bottom 3 leaves or so die and turn brown. Lay it in a shady place with good air circulation until all the leaves die. Then cut the stem and store the garlic in the freezer or on the shelf or whatever.