{"id":3299,"date":"2013-03-17T08:00:17","date_gmt":"2013-03-17T12:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/?p=3299"},"modified":"2013-03-17T09:27:10","modified_gmt":"2013-03-17T13:27:10","slug":"getting-into-the-garlic-groove","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/2013\/03\/17\/getting-into-the-garlic-groove\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting into the garlic groove"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Another way to grow garlic: bulbils from the umbel, or “flower” head. Photo: Lucy Martin<\/p><\/div>\n

I’ve been a happy garlic gardener for maybe 10 years now. I’ve found it to be among the easiest, most reliable things one can plant. Prep a bed, stick cloves in around October (more or less), keep the weeds down come spring, harvest and enjoy!<\/p>\n

We eat green garlic in April and May, and cook with the scapes once they emerge. Lately I’ve been letting some scapes develop into bulbils for another method of propagation. (As pictured above, homegrown from red garlic.)<\/p>\n

So far my garlic has only been prone to one pest. Worst case scenario, about 1\/3rd of my crop is marred by the hard-to-see insect critters, as evidenced by tunnels in the leaves and scapes. I don’t use pesticides, so I just rotate where I plant and live with some loss.<\/p>\n

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My garlic pest: onion thrip? Leek moth? Looks ugly. But I still get a crop.\u00a0(photo by L. Martin)<\/p><\/div>\n

I usually manage to grow enough to replant and supply household demand until next spring. And give some away. (But that can get tricky because that demand always outstrips supply!) Fresh, tasty, organic, economical and good for you. Go garlic!<\/p>\n

Back in May of 2011 we moved from the wee village of Kars to the bustling metropolis of near-by North Gower. Thanks to physically leaving my old garden behind, I had to skip a crop and replant. Given the excuse to branch out, I ordered a number of fun varieties from a Canadian source called Boundary Garlic Farm<\/a>. They’re out in British Columbia, but in a zone that’s even colder than Ottawa, so I though ordering from them would be safe.<\/p>\n

The imports did well enough. Last year was terribly dry and we only had enough well water for the main garden. Outliers fared less well in the baked-to-dust earth. Amazingly, everything survived, although the driest plots were pitifully\u00a0withered.<\/p>\n

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Drought made 2012 tough on gardens. Thankfully, enough home-grown garlic came through to re-plant in October. (photo by L. Martin)<\/p><\/div>\n

Most sources will not ship garlic across the border (soil\u00a0borne\u00a0diseases being one concern) so don’t even try. But I call the B.C. farm to American attention anyway because their website is excellent. It shares lots of info on different <\/span>varieties<\/a>, on growing cloves the conventional way and on starting garlic with <\/span>bulbils<\/a>, including a lovely <\/span>photo gallery<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bulbils are what form on scape head (pod?) if left to fully develop.\u00a0Ted\u00a0Maczka (“the Fish Lake garlic man”) gave a talk on propagating bulbils at the Perth Garlic Festival back in 2011. The second photo show bulbils he’s sized up once.<\/p>\n

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Ted “Fish Lake Garlic Man” Maczka explained bulbil propagation at the Perth Garlic Festival in 2011. (photo by L. Matin)<\/p><\/div>\n

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Maczka’s demonstration display of bulbils at what I call “the pearl onion size stage” – plant these out one more time to reach full size. (photo by L. Martin)<\/p><\/div>\n

I think the first-time-grown bulbils look like pearl onions. Just like regular garlic, these will go dormant. Harvest and plant them one more time and they’ll turn into full-size bulbs.<\/p>\n

Yes, this takes longer. But this method provides for a fabulous multiplier effect. (I’ll know more about how this works next year. I am only half-way through my first try at doing this.) By starting with bulbil propagation growers can also avoid spreading soil-borne diseases.<\/p>\n

I’m thinking about garlic right now because of a library book I’ve been reading this week: “The Complete Book of Garlic: A Guide for Gardeners, Growers and Serious Cooks<\/a>” by another Ted, Ted Jordan Meredith (Timber Press, 2008). Meredith has a good\u00a0blog on garlic<\/a>\u00a0too.<\/p>\n

By the way, the term “seed garlic” is a bit misleading. Like seed potatoes, it refers to propagation material grown for that purpose, not actual seeds. It is<\/em> possible to produce true garlic seeds, but it takes special effort and is seldom done. (Read more about true <\/span>garlic seed<\/a>\u00a0at Meredith’s blog.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Alas, I’m not the sort of gardener who knows the Latin names, or remembers all the technical stuff. But this book has all that and more.<\/p>\n

Garlic is a good crop for this part of the world. If you’ve been thinking about it, but are put off by trying something unknown, I say take the leap. Here’s more from Cornell’s vegetable growing guide on garlic<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Looking around to see if there was anything related to garlic happening in Northern New York in March, I stumbled on something called 2013 Capital District Garlic School<\/a>, happening in Geneva, N.Y. on March 19th, sponsored by Cornell Cooperative Extension. It seems geared for growers more than gardeners, but I’m sure they’d be happy to see any interested party. (Small fee, pre-registration\u00a0deadline is Mon. March 18.)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One of my old neighbors in Kars lost an entire crop to rot in a wet year. So aim for good drainage, or use raised beds.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, a small farm that grows market vegetables on the outskirts of North Gower, was totally under water – for days! – in last year’s spring thaw. I was sure they would lose all their garlic, yet it came through alright. Go figure!<\/p>\n

I’ve been throwing lots extra details into this post – but you can always keep it super simple.<\/p>\n

Bottom line: garlic is worth trying!<\/p>\n

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