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Growing garlic bulbs from cloves in backyard garden in USA

Growing garlic in the garden is a good option for a long time. Though garlic takes about 6 to 8 months to become mature you can store garlic till the next season. So there is no doubt about its cultivation in the garden. Also, it is easier to grow in a garden if you follow the right procedure.

Instead of growing garlic from seeds, let's understand to grow them with garlic cloves. But you need some preparation before sowing garlic cloves and you can't grow them directly in the soil. So let's understand how to grow garlic bulbs at the beginner level. 

How to grow garlic from cloves

Growing garlic from seeds takes a lot of time initially to establish their roots. With time, the size of garlic may depend and become sensitive to the growing conditions. So it can vary even if it is a quality seed. So instead of growing them with seeds, we prefer to grow them with cloves.

Growing garlic by using bulb cloves

But before telling you the procedure to grow garlic from cloves, you should know the basic conditions and season of growing garlic.

Season of growing and harvesting garlic

Garlic like cool climate conditions where it can get cool temperatures and moderate humidity for growing. Generally, garlic cultivation starts from early fall to mid-fall. It is always better to grow them in cool climates where they get temperatures between 32F to 50F. You should be aware that growing garlic bulbs method is different than fennel herb bulbs growing method.

From here, it gets up to 9 months and 8 months maximum to become ready for harvesting. So either it happens in late spring or it becomes ready when green leaves become brown and dry. 

Preparing garlic cloves for sowing

It is better and faster to grow garlic from cloves instead of seed germination. Garlic cloves are easier to sow and less sensitive than seeds. One garlic clove can produce a whole garlic bulb. But you can't grow them directly in the ground before checking them. 

Select the garlic those are mature enough and have some green sprout at the tip. If it is not but garlic is matured then easily you can make them ready. Take the parental garlic bulb which is matured enough and pick all the cloves from it. Spray some water and keep them in shade for a couple of days. Soon you will see there are green sprouts in every garlic clove. 

You can sow them directly in the ground without any other treatment. 

Requirements to grow garlic

  • Soil type- Well-drained, rich soil with organic components
  • Climate- Cool 
  • Temperature- 32F to 50F
  • Humidity- 20% to 40%
  • Sunlight- Daily sunlight 5 to 7 hours
  • Shade- Partial shade tolerant for a few times a day

Tools required

  • Spade 
  • Cultivator tool 
  • Cultivation reck
  • Sprinkler irrigation system

Materials required

  • Organic compost
  • Dried grass
  • Garlic cloves

Step by step growing garlic from cloves

Step 1- Garlic cloves preparation for sowing

As I suggested above, you need to prepare the garlic cloves for sowing in a similar manner. Without sprouting in cloves, they make take longer to germinate further. 

Step 2- Soil preparation in the garden

Plow the garden section where you want to grow garlic. Mix soil, organic compost, and coco-peat in a ratio of 2:2:1. Mix them well with the help of a cultivator tool or reck. Spray some water and level the surface.

Step 3- Sowing garlic cloves 

Keep a certain gap of 6 inches in rows and columns as well. If you grow them too close then it will be difficult to remove weeds carefully. So finally, sow garlic cloves at a certain distance from each other. Either you can pinch them in the ground or cover them with soil but leave the green portion above the ground. Spray some water later. 

Step 4- Cloves germination and further growth

After a week or two, garlic cloves start to germinate in your garden. They hardly feel any stress if you grow them in the right season. Let them grow as it is and don't irrigate until they establish their roots because moisture is not going to dry fast.

Step 5- Regular irrigation and sunlight

From here, the temperature is not gonna increase so keep in mind that you don't need to let the shade cover the area. Don't even over-irrigate your cloves plants. Let them grow in full sunlight and once a week or ten days, you can irrigate your garlic plants. But if the soil is enough moist then you can increase the duration of irrigation easily. 

Step 6- First fertilization

First fertilization is required after the first weeding. You need additional fertilization even after mixing compost initially while preparing the soil for cloves. You need organic decomposed compost to fertilize once again. Do this while the upcoming week is going to be full sun. Don't use liquid compost but you can spray some water additionally. Do it during the mid-growth period.

Step 7- Regular weeding and care

Because of many reasons like land history and neighbor weeds, your garlic garden may get some weeds too. So don't worry, they are not going to invade garlic plants but still, their removal is very important. So for that, you should do weeding once in two-three weeks regularly. If they don't appear further then avoid them. 

Step 8- Garlic becomes mature

From fall to mid-spring, garlic starts to turn green to yellowish and brownish. It is a sign of garlic becoming mature. From here, you don't need any irrigation. Just let them grow till the leaves don't get completely dry. Every plant has one garlic bulb in the ground so prepare yourself for harvesting. 

Step 9- Harvest garlic plants

You can use your hands to pick them up directly. Pick all the garlic above the ground and collect them. You're not done yet so stick to the end. This garlic is still too moist, you can't store them for long. 

Step 10- Dry your garlic in direct sunlight

Bind a couple of garlic-dried stem with each other(a bunch of 10 to 12 plants). Keep them in direct sunlight or hang them on a horizontal stand or support. Let them dry for a couple of days. Check them after 2 to 3 days if they are not too moist then remove them and store them. Use your homegrown healthy garlic accordingly after drying them.

Common mistakes by beginners 

Although growing garlic is not that much difficult even for beginners still they may do some minor mistakes that can cause some bigger losses. To avoid them first, you should learn from these mistakes- 

  • Don't over-irrigate your garlic plants while they are still in cold conditions. Even if conditions are overcast and the soil is dried, don't over-irrigate. 
  • If you keep your garlic plants in shade for too long then you are doing a bigger mistake. Avoid this shade and let them grow in full sunlight.
  • If you keep them too close to each other then they will not reach their peak. Even it is difficult to remove weeds easily at closer distances. 
  • No fertilization during the whole season is not a good thing for plant growth. At least one fertilization with organic compost is necessary.
  • Avoiding weeding in garlic-growing areas may affect the overall growth of garlic bulbs. It can affect the entire growth of the plant very easily though it will not invade the entire area.

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