Just when you thought gardening season was over, there's another thing to plant, garlic! You want to plant your garlic right around the time of your first frost which for us here in zone 5b is around October 15th. If you know your hardiness zone, find your first frost date here.
I'm growing garlic for the second time this fall and I'm so excited! Garlic truly elevates a recipe and I had such a great experience growing garlic from Keene Garlic last year that I ordered more seed garlic from them to plant this fall!
You can either choose between growing hardneck or softneck garlic. Hardneck garlic thrives in cold temperatures and cooler climates which makes it ideal for northern gardeners and fall planting. Hardneck garlic also has a more robust flavor, larger cloves, and you get garlic scapes. Softneck varieties have a mild, sweet flavor and are usually grown in warmer climates. Hardneck varieties usually have a shorter shelf life of about 4-8 months whereas most softneck varieties can be stored for up to a year. Once you've decided which variety you want to grow, make sure to get your preorders in because most websites tend to sellout before planting!
Here in zone 5b, I'm going to plant my hardneck garlic around October 15th and if all goes well, I'm going to harvest early July! I'll be using a 4'x4' area in our raised garden bed to plant our garlic. I will add some compost and 2 pounds of wool pellets before I plant. I'll mix in the wool pellets into the top 3 inches of soil. You can also add a handful of wool pellets into the hole before planting your garlic. Plant the garlic cloves 4-8 inches apart and 2 inches deep in their upright position (pointed end facing up.) Keep your garlic rows 6-12 inches apart. I'm also mulching with wool pellets to keep the soil covered during those winter months and to act as a weed suppressant. I also found that the wool pellets create a nice mat that doesn't blow away in the wind like other mulches. You can also use straw mulch, just make sure to mulch well before the snow starts flying!
Along with my own experience, I've gotten some really good feedback from customers who have used wool pellets to overwinter their garlic. One woman commented that her garlic scapes on her hardneck garlic came a good two weeks before in her wool pellet bed than her control garden bed. Erin from Nerdy Sheep Fiber Works in Colorado reported that her garlic overwintered much better in her wool pellet bed and looked more robust come spring. Along with releasing essential nutrients to your garlic from the beginning, wool pellets also have insulative properties which help regulate the temperature of the soil, so your garlic stays a perfect temperature all winter long.
Shop wool pellets at krpelletco.com and as always please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions!
Happy planting!
Megan ❤