White garlic: Sowing, planting and harvest calendar
How do you plant white garlic?
Choose healthy cloves of a white garlic variety suited to your climate and planting season. Planting is usually in autumn; some varieties also suit late winter or early spring. Prepare a sunny, weed-free spot with well-drained soil. Avoid planting in waterlogged ground.
Separate the cloves just before planting without removing their skins. Set them flat end down and pointed end up, about 15 cm apart, with about 30 cm between rows. Cover the tips with about 2–3 cm of soil, adjusting the depth to the soil and supplier's instructions. Water if the soil is dry, without causing waterlogging.
Before putting the cloves in the ground, discard any that are soft, mouldy or damaged. Add a label with the variety name and planting date, especially if you are comparing several batches. After heavy rain, check that water drains away and that the cloves are still in place. If birds pull any out, carefully replant them while they are still unrooted. In heavy soil, choose a raised, freely draining area rather than a hollow where water can collect around the developing roots. Keep the label visible as the shoots emerge.
How to care for this plant
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Weed
Remove weeds around young bulbs, especially if they shade them. Close to the plants, weed by hand to protect the roots and avoid damaging the bulbs.
When do you harvest white garlic?
Harvest white garlic bulbs when the foliage turns yellow and starts to dry, usually in late spring or summer depending on the variety, planting time and climate. Do not rely on a fixed date. In dry weather, gently loosen the soil with a fork and lift the bulbs without damaging them, rather than pulling on the stems. You are harvesting bulbs, not bulbils.
Dry the bulbs in a dry, well-ventilated place protected from rain. Wait until the foliage and skins are fully dry before trimming the roots and stems or plaiting the garlic. Store healthy bulbs in a cool, dry, airy place; check regularly and discard any that rot. Storage life depends on the variety and storage conditions.
Check a few bulbs before lifting the whole row: they should have developed properly and still have protective outer skins. Do not wait until every leaf has disappeared, as the wrappers may deteriorate and the cloves may separate. Gently remove loose soil without washing bulbs intended for curing or knocking them together. Set aside bulbs cut by your tool and use them soon instead of adding them to your stored crop. Spread the harvest out without piling the bulbs together, so that air can circulate throughout the drying period.
White garlic
- Type : Vegetables
- Subtype : Bulb vegetables
- Botanical Family : Liliaceae
Characteristics
- Lifecycle : Annual
- Exposure : Full Sun
- Frost Hardiness : Frost Resistant
- Cultivation Difficulty : Easy
- Mature height : 60 cm
Sowing & Planting
- Greenhouse Growing : Not Required
- Sowing Depth : 3 cm
- Plant Spacing : 10 cm
- Row Spacing : 25 cm
Maintenance
- Maintenance : Low
- Water Requirements : Moderate
Other characteristics
- Soil Type : Humus-rich
- Soil pH Preference : Neutral
- Pest Sensitivity : Moderate
- Disease Sensitivity : Moderate
- Weed Sensitivity : Moderate
- Pollination : Insect-pollinated
- Propagation : Division