Growing garlic in the Ottawa region
Plant your garlic in October. It will set roots before the winter and will be insulated by snow cover.
The plants will emerge and grow throughout the spring. Bulbs will be ready for harvest mid-July. After harvest, allow a few weeks for curing - garlic needs to be very dry to store well. There are many great online resources for planting and caring for garlic.
Here are some basic tips:
Plant your garlic in October. It will set roots before the winter and will be insulated by snow cover.
The plants will emerge and grow throughout the spring. Bulbs will be ready for harvest mid-July. After harvest, allow a few weeks for curing - garlic needs to be very dry to store well. There are many great online resources for planting and caring for garlic.
Here are some basic tips:
- Plant in well-drained, well-amended soil (add a healthy amount of compost).
- Garlic shouldn't be planted anywhere other alliums have been grown for the last 3 years.
- Divide bulbs into individual cloves. Plant cloves 10-12 inches apart, 4-6 inches deep. Cover. Make sure the pointy end of the bulb is facing up!
- Cover the bed with 4-6 inches of straw to protect the garlic through the winter.
- Once the plants are poking through the straw in the spring you can remove it for faster growth or leave it as mulch.
- Weed and water your garlic regularly throughout the spring.
- Around mid-June, the scapes will form a curl and they should be removed to encourage bulb growth. You can make great recipes with scapes!
- In July, pay attention to the leaves. When 2-3 outer leaves have dried down completely you can harvest!
- Cure garlic at least 3 weeks in a well ventilated space - hang it or space it out on racks out of direct sunlight.
- After curing, cut off the stem and roots. It should keep at least 6 months stored at room temperature. Enjoy your home-grown garlic!