How to Grow Garlic (Part 1) | Varieties, Soil Prep, and Planting

Learning how to grow garlic is one of the more satisfying tasks in the garden. We use it in our cooking all of the time, so why not grow an EPIC amount for home use? In this video we'll talk about how to plant garlic, my favorite garlic varieties, and the difference between hardneck and softneck garlic.

We'll also cover the best way to prepare your soil for garlic, garlic spacing, and some mulching strategies that work well.

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[epicgardening]

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 - Intro
1:03 - Hardneck vs. Softneck
4:10 - Varieties I'm Growing
5:28 - Choosing The Right Cloves
7:07 - Soaking Garlic
8:45 - Bed Preparation
10:31 - Garlic Spacing
11:25 - Planting and Mulching

[didi]

Day 108 of quarantine: I'm watching a 14 minute video on growing garlic and have fully accepted that I will be finishing the rest of the series although I have no plans of growing garlic anytime soon. I genuinely find this detailed information on garlic to be incredibly fascinating good day

[dustman]

Buy garlic bulb, break into cloves, shove into soil pointy side up, water occasionally.

[hauntedshadowslegacy]

Since he didn't explain it in the video: *Pre-soaking*

Pre-soaking garlic cloves in the solution he mentioned (followed up with an alcohol bath) is designed to kill off any mites or mite eggs that could be hard to see. The alcohol bath afterward is designed to prevent rot or mold. It's considered 'optional', but it's probably worth doing if you aren't quite sure what growing environment the original bulb came from or you *really* need the garlic to thrive. If you're skipping the pre-soak, I'd suggest sticking to container growing rather than sticking 'em in the ground; that way, if there are mites, they won't easily spread to the rest of your garden. If the cloves you're planting came from your own garden or the garden of someone you know doesn't have mites (they're a friend, so ask 'em), the pre-soak is probably not necessary.

[annieo]

SOOOO happy to find this. My son grows incredible garlic. Mine are always inferior. Edible...but inferior.
We are lovers of the hard-neck garlic....either elephant garlic or the Russian Red garlic.
It's not that we we find ourselves comparing our he always' wins'. LOL


Thanks so much for these tips. Maybe I'll 'win'; next season....even though we are not competing. 🤣

[joshDS]

I didn't realize it takes so long to grow 😅. I randomly planted one in my garden and it sprouted but I got impatient and pulled it out to see what was going on.

[reidrow]

1. I love garlic.
2. I could not stop thinking about how you're wearing flipflops with a jacket! LOL!

[nannenymous]

One of the very few channels I trust when it comes to gardening. Love the content!

[TeaN]

i used more garlic in cooking and its quite expensive if japan made .. i dont buy if not local grower so i decided to grow my own .. thanks for the idea..

[theteezonewormfarmingvermi]

Kevin, the prep & details make all of the difference... THANK YOU for going the extra mile!! I've got mine planted with shallots too, (zone 9/10). They are going well for the 1st time (fingers crossed). As far as the little cloves: I like to plant them shallowly, in-between so I can harvest as greens & don't have to bother peeling! Plus, that fresh, baby garlic is OMGoodness so special! Love what you are doing!! 💞

[laurelcook]

So super fun fact about my state - back before the industrial revolution my state was a major producer of garlic. That is an understatement — basically people grew so much garlic in the 1800’s that today in 2021 my town has a bunch of garlic growing all over the place. I haven’t purchased a single garlic seed as all I have to do is kinda look around my backyard as soon as the snow melts & just select the garlic I want to propagate. I then break the cloves apart and grow them in a pot. If you go to the other side of my state you’ll find a bunch of wild onions and I have a theory that the onions will arrive naturally in a few decades. 😂

[doodahgurlie]

Anxiously awaiting part 2, Kevin. Hurry up and crank out the next video so I can see all your garlic. LOL

[opinionatedjam]

Love your channel man!! Absolutely a must have tool in the arsenal for any gardener new or seasoned. I tend to grow many varieties of peppers each year and still come back to check in on the updates/nuggets of knowledge you provide.

[angelahancockvoso]

I can’t believe I never knew you can grow garlic like this. I can’t wait to watch the whole garlic series!

[aha]

I plant the tiny cloves for garlic greens, delicious with eggs

[icouldjustscream]

I've grow garlic for several years, zone 4, plant in October. Add mulch 2-3 wks later, I use straw.Then comes the snow! The snow melts in April, garlic pokes through the straw in May. I love watching how other people do things, you can always learn something new.

[monicacedeno]

Love the passionate nerdiness . Your vibe is awesome!

[mishasnow]

wow! ...that WAS epic ...I live in northern canada, zone three, I plant at the first frost, mulch, the ground freezes solid (this year two weeks of -37 C) ...garlic is always the first plant to appear in the garden ., ..I plant 8 varieties, all hard neck ....Cheers ...love your channel ...can't even concieve what it is like to garden in zone 10 B

[mirandav]

This is one of the clearest videos I’ve found about rosemary. Thankyou! 🙂

[Martysmarch]

Love having a set garlic bed as well as planting near the tomatoes/brassicas/peppers- usually have my garden planned for spring so I know what goes where..
...grows nicely and helps the NEIGHBOR plant with bugs..