After planting, in the spring, take off the mulch when new shoots appear. When leaves start to grow, fertilize every two weeks with a foliar fertilizer like seaweed or fish emulsion. Continue fertilizing until mid-May, when the bulbs begin to form underground.
If rain is in short supply, water your garlic once a week while it is actively developing with an inch of water. Early in June, or when the leaves start to turn yellow, stop watering so that the bulbs can begin to harden up.
The majority of gardeners who produce hardneck garlic harvest the curly, blooming scapes when they first sprout in the middle of June. This is thought to aid energy flow to the new bulbs. Some gardeners claim there is little change in their yields when the scapes are left on the plants. You might play about with your crop.
If you do trim the scapes, make sure to eat them because they give food a lovely garlic flavor. Cook them in a skillet with young summer squash, include them in summertime marinades, or make a tenacious garlic pesto. Young scapes are delicate; as they age, they become woody and difficult to chew.
Since they function as a natural fungicide, garlic and other members of the onion family are excellent partners for many other vegetable plants. In close proximity to garlic, grow tomatoes, potatoes, and brassicas (such as cabbage, kale, broccoli, and cauliflower). Garlic and other members of the onion family, such as roses, are also sworn to by rose growers as effective aphid repellents.
Knowing when garlic should be harvested is a skill that needs to be developed, according to even experienced garlic growers. If bulbs are harvested too soon, they won’t be fully formed.
If bulbs are harvested too late, they will be breaking open and the cloves will be beginning to separate. Garlic won’t store well for the winter if you dig it up at the incorrect time. The following advice will help you decide when to harvest garlic:
Keep an eye out for symptoms of yellowing and browning on the lowest leaves to determine when garlic is ready to be harvested.
There are early, mid-season, and late kinds and hot or cold temperatures can affect how quickly the bulbs grow.
Cutting scapes also indicates that it’s time to stop watering hard neck varieties and begin planning your harvest. After you’ve removed the last of the scapes, give plants one last good watering, and then let the soil begin to dry up. It is preferable if the land is dry when it is time to harvest.
Six to nine leaves are typically produced by garlic plants. Each of these leaves forms a portion of the papery layers that cover and safeguard cloves by extending down the stem and wrapping around the bulb.
Bulbs are ready to be harvested when the lower two or three leaves turn yellow or brown. Your bulbs won’t store well if you wait much longer than this since they won’t have as many protective layers surrounding the cloves.
The remaining leaves will likely start to develop brown or yellow tips at the same time. When one-third of the plant’s seven to nine leaves, including the lowest ones, which may be entirely brown, begin to yellow and become brown, it indicates that the plants are transferring fewer nutrients and moisture.
