From: Shirley Fetherolf--Master Gardener Class of 2002
Fall Home Improvement-Garlic
September 10, 2002

 Fall is the ideal time to plant garlic, and it's very  easy to grow.  Buy
the freshest head of garlic you can
 find at your grocery store, then break it apart into cloves, leaving the
skins on
    Prepare a planting bed in full sun, and poke holes two inches deep and
about six inches apart, in rows at
 least six inches apart.  Sort the garlic cloves into small, medium, and
large.  Save the small and large
 ones for eating, and plant the medium-sized ones for the best yield,
experts say.  I planted all sizes with
 good results, however.
    Plant cloves with the pointy side up, then cover with soil and pat down
firmly.  Water well, and keep the
 plants mulched in the winter. Fertilize in the spring when the green tops
start growing again, but withhold
fertilizer later on, since too much nitrogen can promote rot.
    Keep all flowers snipped off.  As soon as the tops begin to turn yellow,
carefully digs the bulbs and  move them to a warm, dry, ventilated place out
of the sun where they can "cure."  After bulbs are well cured, cut the tops
off an inch above the bulb.  Some of the cured garlic can be replanted again
in the fall  for next year's crop.
    An alternate but more artistic harvest method is to leave garlic in the
soil two weeks after tops begin to yellow.  Pull up plants and braid leaves
together,  then hang in a warm, dry place.  Garlic farmers from western
states are selling these braids over the  Internet for over $20 each.
    Elephant garlic and other varieties can be ordered  from spring seed
catalogs for fall shipment and planting.  In general, the silver-skinned
ones are the  best keepers, but a great number of less-long lasting  kinds
with red or purple cloves are also available.
         Garlic cloves can also be potted up for a windowsill garden.  The
fresh garlic tops taste good in soups and salads in the winter when your
outdoor garden is  finished.

Shirley Fetherolf is a Master Gardener Volunteer class of 2002.