Growing Garlic In Raised Beds: A Starter’s Guide

Growing Garlic In Raised Beds: A Starter’s Guide

Growing Garlic In Raised Beds: A Starter’s Guide

how far apart to plant garlic in a raised bed

If you’re new to gardening, growing garlic is a great way to get started. You’ll find it to be one of the easiest crops to grow and maintain.

Hard Neck vs Soft Neck

First you will need to identify what type of garlic you’d like to grow. There are “hard neck” and “soft neck” garlic varieties. Hard neck varieties derive their name from the stem the bulbs form around. Hard necks also produce “scapes”, the shoot on top of the plant. These scapes resemble green onions and are can be cooked. Hard necks prefer cooler weather and do not grow as well in the South. Although, I’ve had some success with the Chesnok Red variety. I have found soft neck garlic to grow bigger bulbs in our climate. Soft necks do not produce scapes.

My favorite soft neck varieties are Early Italian & Inchelium Red. As for the hard necks, I grow Purple Glazer and Chesnok Red. I purchase my seeds from Garlic Gods. I highly recommend them for quality and service. And of course, they’re organic. Be sure to order early in the summer as favorite varieties sell out fast.

  • Chesnok Red hard neck
  • Early Italian soft neck
  • Harvested scapes

When and How to Plant

Maintenance

I love to grow garlic because there is very little maintenance after planting. Bugs and voles won’t touch it. This is a welcome relief. As an organic gardener who does not use pesticides, bugs are a constant problem with my other crops. Given it’s repellent nature, I’m considering planting some garlic amongst my dahlias next year in an attempt to repel voles (I’ll keep you posted, be sure and subscribe to my newsletter for updates).

Other than pulling the occasional weed, all there is to do is make sure it gets at least 1″ of water per week through the winter.

Harvesting and Storage

After several weeks, braid the garlic and hang it to finish curing. Once fully cured, it’s ready to enjoy and share with family and friends.

Happy gardening! I look forward to hearing your garlic growing success story!

This post was last modified on November 30, 2024 5:48 am