Garlic is easy to plant and requires little care - it can also be grown in pots on the balcony. In a mixed culture with strawberries, carrots or tomatoes, garlic offers protection against uninvited guests such as voles.
How to plant garlic?
Garlic is planted in winter or spring in a sunny and warm place at a distance of 15 cm and a row spacing of 20 cm. Rock dust and compost can be incorporated to prepare the soil. The toes are inserted into the soil about 5 cm deep with the pointed end facing upwards. In spring you can fertilize with plant manure.
Planting bulbs or cloves?
If you want to plant garlic in your own garden, use seed bulbs (bulbils) or cloves (daughter onions). The latter refer to the individual components of the mother tuber that are ultimately used in the kitchen. Onions, on the other hand, form from the flower of the garlic plant and look like small, rounded purple nubs. Strictly speaking, bulbils are not the same as actual garlic seeds, which rarely develop.
It is possible to grow garlic yourself from seeds and to get seeds again from the flowers. However, this process is very difficult and time-consuming. In return, the bulbils themselves grow even better. Many hobby gardeners creditsprouting onions with more robust tubers and a richer harvest. Disadvantage: In the first year after exposure, only so-called roundlings form, which only become real tubers in the second year. However, the normal cloves form into a complete garlic in the first year.
Tip
The bulbs or bulbils of garlic are often equated with the term “garlic seeds,” although they actually mean something different. So if you come across garlic seeds on the Internet, you can almost certainly assume that they are referring to the bulbils.
When to plant garlic?
There are two planting times for garlic. If garlic is planted towards the end of the year, the harvest will be larger. If you missed the planting time in winter, the toes can still be planted in spring. The harvest time of both plantings is approximately the same.
Garlic is planted in loosened soil approx. 5 cm deep.
Stuck in spring and harvest in summer
Garlic cloves or bulbils aremid-February to mid-March put into the ground and planted. If you missed the time by a few days, you can pre-germinate the toes indoors on damp kitchen paper. They are then also released into the open air. However, not all types of garlic are suitable for growing garlic yourself in spring. According to the Bavarian State Institute for Viticulture and Horticulture (LWG), 'Gardos' and 'Ljubasha' are recommended.
Spring cultivation is particularly suitable for beginners. Due to the shorter growing season, garlic fly infestation is less likely. In return, you have to expect smaller tubers and correspondingly smaller harvests. Another positive side effect of early planting is the improved storage ability of garlic.
Stuck in autumn and harvest in summer
The best time for planting garlic isbetween mid-September and the beginning of October As long as the weather is still mild, small plants grow from the cloves and bulbils, which grow in the start next spring and form larger tubers. The onions survive the winter without any problems. However, gardening expert Rasch expressly recommends using local varieties (for example 'German Porcelain'). Toes from the supermarket usually come from warmer areas such as Egypt and therefore cannot tolerate the German climate.
Tip
The larger harvest speaks in favor of winter cultivation, whereas spring planting promises better protection against pests. Beginners who can live with smaller yields should start planting in February/March to avoid pest control.
The right location for garlic
Garlic and strawberries like to be sunny, which is why they can be planted together. The garlic is also said to keep insects and voles away.
The leek plant likes itwarm and sunny So that the shallow roots can spread well, the soil should be loose. A windy location also helps against pests. However, wet and heavy soils are a horror for garlic. At the same time, sandy and humus-poor locations are also unsuitable because the roots then tend to dry out quickly. Wine-growing regions, for example, are best suited for planting garlic optimally.
Instructions: Plant garlic in the bed
Planting garlic is incredibly easy. You just have to make sure to offer the shallow-rooted plants as much space as possible, i.e. to keep their distance from one another. To ensure that the plant quickly stands on its own two feet, it helps to place itin the ground with the pointed end pointing upwards. The roots sprout from the hard, flat end.
And this is how it works:
- Break individual cloves of garlic from the mother bulb and leave to rest for about a week.
- Then prepare the bed with primary rock powder or compost (about 2 liters per 1 square meter).
- The toes are pressed about 5 centimeters the right way into the soil at a planting distance of 15 centimeters and at a row spacing of 20 centimeters.
- The hole is then covered with earth. From a height of 10 cm, the garlic can be covered with mulch.
- Until the end of May, the garlic as a medium feeder is happy with one or two manure applications and moderate watering.
- When the leaves begin to yellow and turn over, watering is stopped to prevent fungal diseases. The harvest takes place from mid-July.
What happens when garlic blooms?
Spring garlic and the softneck varieties generally do not produce flowers. As the name suggests, the “gentle neck” would not hold the heavy bulbils and would break them. In hardneck varieties, small buds can sit on 80 to 100 centimeter long stems. To do this, the plant invests energy that, for many hobby gardeners, would be better off in the tubers. However, whether removing garlic early results in a larger harvest isnot scientifically proven
If you leave the buds standing, they will develop into breeding bulbs that can be replanted. However, if you decide to break out the buds, they don't necessarily have to end up in the compost. They are used in the kitchen and can be made into pesto, for example. Their taste is slightly milder than that of the toes.
Is garlic a shallow or deep rooter?
Garlic is aFlat-rooted plant Accordingly, the plant needs a lot of space so that the roots can develop freely. In sandy soils, the roots can dry out due to the loose grain. However, it must not be solid or wet either, because then there is a risk of rot. Before unplugging, the soil should be raked thoroughly to loosen it up.
Instructions: Plant garlic in a pot
Garlic can be planted in pots. If you only want to use the green parts of the plant, the toes can be set very tightly. If you want real tubers to form in the pot, you need a lot of space. So pay particular attention to the planting distance between the toes.
- If not already available: drill a drainage hole in the bottom of the pot
- Lay out a drainage layer made of expanded clay, wood chips or stones
- Fill the pot with high-quality vegetable soil (alternatively: mixture of compost, sand and garden soil)
- Insert one to three cloves 5 centimeters deep per 10 liter pot volume; the distance is 15 centimeters
- The plant can be mulched with straw, hay or grass clippings from a height of 10 cm
If you have neither compost nor topsoil available as a filling, Plantura vegetable soil is suitable.
Instructions: Planting bulbils
Growing onions is worth it because of the expected harvest. However, one disadvantage of planting bulbils is the longer growth period.
How to do it:
- The bulbil is pressed 5 centimeters into the ground; Make sure there is enough distance!
- Some mulching may be applied to the top layer of soil to protect the soil from drying out
- The rounds are harvested in July and stored in a dark and cool place until autumn
- Then the little round is pressed into the ground from September onwards like the breeding onion was before
- The full tuber will be harvested next spring
The onion does not necessarily have to be placed in the bed. The bulbils feeleven in the pot as long as the distance is maintained. However, it also takes two years in the bucket until the right tubers are ready to harvest - including interim storage. Garlic cultivation and the difference between bulbils, rounds and tubers are discussed in detail on the YouTube channel “Mushroom and Garden World”.
Knoblauch richtig anbauen - Tipps, Infos und der Unterschied von Bulbillen, Rundlingen und Knollen
Why do bulbils have to be planted and replanted?
Some people may be surprised why the bulbils have to be stored temporarily. Astrid Späth from Biogarten-Füllhorn has researched: The bulbils are planted out in summerbecause they could be injured during the necessary cultivation of the bed The bed is loosened up a little on the surface with the rake. At the same time, raking prevents weeds from sprouting. In the meantime, the round pieces can be easily stored in a dry place and then moved into the freshly made bed.
Good and bad neighbors for garlic
Garlic'sgood neighbors include:
- Strawberries
- Tomatoes
- Carrots
- Beetroot
- Cucumbers
- Dill
- Fruit trees (as underplanting for the tree disc)
Bad Neighbors for garlic are:
- Peas
- Frisolen
- cabbage
- pole beans
- other leeks
Care for garlic
Garlic is considered an easy-care plant. The mere fact that the leek plant can be propagated from a clove of garlic speaks for its robustness. As a medium feeder and shallow rooter, some aspects of care should be taken into account. Above all,weeds should be removed regularly. Because only a he althy plant produces thick tubers and is more resistant to pests.
Fertilize
Stinging nettles in the garden? Good, because the fermented extracts of the plant not only act as a fertilizer for garlic, but are also used in many areas.
Before the toes or bulbils are exposed, the soil should be raked superficially and fertilized later. There are around two liters of compost per square meter of bed area. From the end of April to the end of May, diluted nettle manurecan also be added once or twice to strengthen the soil. However, the leaves should remain dry. A thin layer of mulch of around 5 centimeters is also useful for the plant.
Tip
If strawberries are next to garlic, then the nettle manure should be used with particular caution. If used too much, the strong-smelling manure can negatively affect the sweet taste of the red berries.
Pouring
Garlic likes it moist rather than dry. But waterlogging is an absolute no-go. Therefore the toes or bulbils should be exposed in a slightly drained soil. Moderate watering then means that the soil appears moist without puddles forming. A thin layer of mulch is also recommended so that the soil can retain moisture to the desired extent. To better store water, it's worth reading up on the topic of Terra Preta. The “black soil” of the rainforest is said to improve the general storage capacity of water and nutrients.
Harvest garlic
The hardneck varieties cannot be tied into a braid like the softnecks, but can still be dried hanging.
Harvest garlic can be recognized by the fact that abouttwo thirds of the leaves have turned yellow. The decisive factor here is, on the one hand, the variety and, on the other hand, the time of planting. Garlic grown in spring can be harvested in August. Garlic released in autumn, on the other hand, is ripe from July onwards.
As already mentioned, the best indicator of the right time is the yellow color. In addition, the shell of a ripe tuber is still solid; but the toes noticeably press against it. If the toes are already falling apart, the ideal harvest date has passed. Then they are more susceptible to diseases.
Tip
The website landschaftenschmecken.com gives the advice to harvest when four to five leaves are still green. This means that the wrapping leaves are still intact and protect the garlic from drying out in storage.
How is garlic harvested?
First the soil is loosenedwith a digging fork Then a slight pull on the leaves or stem is enough to pull the tuber out of the ground without injury. It is recommended to harvest on a dry and sunny day to minimize the risk of disease. The next step is drying. The tubers and their stems are hung in a dry and airy place. If the climate is too humid or the air is stagnant, rot threatens to make the garlic inedible. Direct sunlight, however, has a negative effect on the aroma and the he alth-promoting ingredients.
Leave garlic in the ground beyond harvest time
The advantage of a delayed harvest is that you can harvest the garlic as needed, so that fresh cloves always enrich the kitchen. Counterarguments for harvesting fresh on demand: Firstly, garlic tastes much more intense and spicier after drying than fresh. Second, if harvest is delayed, the cloves fall apart and aremore susceptible to disease Therefore, it is best to harvest all of the garlic at once. Properly stored, there will be enough stock until next year.
How to store garlic correctly?
Garlic is stored in a similar way to onions. They preferdark, cool (0 to 4 degrees Celsius) and dry places Creative hobby gardeners weave the tubers into aesthetic braids using the leaves. Alternatively, the garlic feels comfortable in ventilated boxes that are a maximum of 20 centimeters deep. Special mesh bags for storing garlic can be found commercially. Under optimal conditions, dried garlic lasts between six and eight months.
While storing in the refrigerator is not recommended (too high humidity), pickling and fermenting (black garlic) is recommended. However, garlic preserved in oil should not be stored in stock but should be consumed quickly. The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) explicitly warns against poisoning by toxins (Botox), the formation of which in oil can hardly be prevented.
Types of Garlic: Hardneck and Softneck
There are hundreds of different varieties of garlic. They all fall into one of two categories: hardneck and softneck. The decisive factors for the determination are theflower formation, the resistance and the formation in which the toes are in the tuber The eponymous neck is also crucial for the categorization.
If the foliage above the bulb feels hard, it is probably a hardneck variety. Hardneck garlic is grouped into five subgroups. These include, for example, Rocambole, Purple Stripe and Porcelain. They develop long flower stalks on which the bulbils grow. In the tuber there is only a row of cloves (bulbs) around the central base of the stem.
Softneck varieties have multiple rows of toes that are smaller. Softneck garlic is one of the most widely grown varieties, but it does not shoot. This means that no flowers with bulbils form on the stem. The flower would break off due to the soft stem. In contrast to hardneck garlic, the stems can be braided to dry.
Tip
Hardneck garlic has proven itself in our latitudes. It likes the humid spring and summer phases with moderate temperatures. On top of that, it is hardy, but is harder to store than softneck garlic.
Garlic varieties
The best varieties for home cultivation
The following varieties have proven to be particularly suitable for home cultivation:
- Ajo Rosa (pink skin; hot and spicy taste)
- Therador (high yield)
- Chesnok Wight (mild, pleasant taste)
- Morado (purple-red peel; spicy)
- German porcelain (primary garlic variety; intense aroma)
- Vekan (Czech variety; mild aroma)
- Korean farmer (intense spiciness)
Special features: solo garlic and elephant garlic
Solo garlic suits home cooks who don't like peeling garlic. Elephant garlic (right) is usually larger.
So-called solo garlic is increasingly being found in stores: a tuber that only consists of one clove. These areroundlings, which are harvested in the first year after the bulbils are planted. They can be consumed like regular garlic or replanted to harvest “real” bulbs next year.
The name of giant garlic is misleading. The plant produces huge cloves (400 to 500 grams), which are visually very similar to garlic cloves. However, elephant garlic ('Allium ampeloprasum subsp. Ampeloprasum')botanically more related to leeks Compared to garlic, the giant cloves taste very mild and have a less intense smell. Therefore, they are processed more like vegetables in the kitchen than seasoned with them.
FAQ
How do you put garlic in the ground?
Garlic cloves are placed about 5 centimeters deep in the soil with the tip upwards. The hole is closed with soil and then mulched. There should be a distance of 15 centimeters between the plants; the row spacing is 20 centimeters.
Do you have to cut the flower off the garlic?
It's a matter of taste: some gardeners eagerly cut off the flowers, others leave them alone. An increase in yield through removal has not been scientifically proven.
Does garlic need to be peeled before planting?
No, the clove of garlic should remain intact. It serves as a natural protective layer against diseases. When the garlic begins to sprout, it penetrates the top of the bowl all by itself.
What are the best types of garlic?
The robust hardneck variants have stood out in our climatic conditions. These include, for example, the varieties Therador, Morado and German Porcelain.
How to plant garlic?
You can either break the cloves out of the garlic bulb and stick them in the ground or plant the bulbils of the garlic flower.
When to plant garlic?
There are two times when garlic can be planted. On the one hand, this is spring in February to mid-March. On the other hand, garlic can be exposed between September and the beginning of October.
