Garlic planting

Today we had another lovely sunny day so took advantage of this and planted garlic with the group in bed 5 where the gourds were harvested last week.

We shall have 8 rows of garlic in this bed and later in March we will sow Beetroot in between

If all goes well, we shall harvest the garlic and beetroot in June/July in our school shop.

Followed by french beans that should be ready when we come back from summer holidays.

More about garlic from the RHS website

Plant

Garlic casts no shade and is vulnerable to being smothered by weeds. You can avoid this by removing weeds regularly before they become established.

Garlic does not need additional watering, although during spring and early summer an occasional thorough watering during dry spells will improve yields. Don’t water once the bulbs are large and well-formed, as this could encourage rotting.

Snip off any flowers that form – they seldom do.

Garlic grows well in any sunny, fertile site. For every square metre add 50g (2oz) of general-purpose fertiliser before planting.

Garlic is best planted in late autumn or early winter; the general rule of thumb is to plant cloves before Christmas.

Break up the bulbs and plant individual cloves just below the soil surface 15cm (6in) apart and in rows 30cm (12in) apart.

Prevent birds from pulling up the cloves by covering the rows with horticultural fleece.