Believe it or not, now is the time to consider next year’s garlic because:
- You’re going to want to plant it by Halloween, at the latest, and,
- Preferred vendors are going to sell out of some varieties fast.
One reason we grow so much garlic is that we’re growing not only what we’ll eat, but also what we’ll plant. Biggest bulbs get set aside to plant for next year’s crop. Then we follow the very easy instructions to prep the bed and plant, as I said above, before Halloween.
Can you use garlic from the supermarket? Maybe.
Supermarket garlic is often treated with anti-growth spray so it can stay for a long time without sending out sprouts. This may prevent your supermarket garlic from growing at all – it may simply rot in the ground where planted.
Supermarket garlic is also often from China and is either a “soft neck” or a “hard neck” variety. That matters because soft neck varieties won’t give you a scape, and are generally grown in areas with less harsh winters due to their less-than-hardneck ability to deal with harsh winters. There are also legitimate concerns about disease (this is a concern about any garlic that isn’t certified “disease free” – not a question of where it was grown).
Don’t forget the scapes! Only hardneck varieties provide them in a normal growing season.
Can you use garlic from the farmer’s market? Probably.
Farmers will often save their largest heads for themselves to plant next year’s crop, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get great heads for yourself. If you ask, they may even pull some big heads out of the truck (or promise to bring some next week).
Where else can I buy seed garlic? Reputable vendors.
We’re lucky to have several reputable vendors in the northeast that sell high quality seed garlic. The garlic is usually certified disease free and will usually grow very well, though exceptions do occur.
In no particular order, some high quality garlic vendors include:
Maine Potato Lady – Last year I bought my replacement garlic from her and the results are great. Highly recommended.
Johnny’s Selected Seeds – My original garlic came, I believe, from Johnny’s. Saving the largest bulbs worked for eight years until I had a crop issue and had to replace them all, which has nothing to do with the quality of Johnny’s product. I’ve got no complaints.
Seed Savers Exchange: I’ve never purchased from them but I hear good things.
As some may recall, the Music I grew this year was unbelievably small, despite growing in the same row as the other garlic with the same conditions. Suffice it to say that the vendor who sold me that garlic isn’t listed above.
And here is some information about how I usually prepare a bed and plant it.