Planting some garlic soon

[Belmont]

Hey all, I swung by the local greenhouse last week, the day before they closed for the season. Grabbed up some garlic bulbs what for planting. Im wondering about what sorta conditions I ought to leave them in. Im planting in a pot because I have nowhere else to plant them, it worked well for my onions. The soil was soaking wet when i harvested my onions, so I brought it in to dry. To cut to the chase and ask my questions:

Does the moisture content of the soil matter much?

Can I leave them outside over the winter?

Is there anything I should do before planting the bulbs?

As always, any help is much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Vishu1708]

Does the moisture content of the soil matter much?

It does matter..... you are lucky your onions didnt rot....... most bulbs like occasional drying out and wet soil is never appriciated.
Also for bigger bulbs, its best to use some loose soil.

Can I leave them outside over the winter?

Depends on how cold your winters are and what variety you are planting......
As a rule of the thumb, hard stem varities can tolerate more harsh climate while soft neck garlics do much better in milder climates.

Is there anything I should do before planting the bulbs?

Amend the soil...... make it more loose and airy. Also add some wood ash or morrate of potash to the soil for bigger, better blooms.
Also Soaking the cloves overnight before planting speeds up the sprouting process

 

[alp]

You two make me laugh - one from Canada -freezing cold in winter freezer. One from India oven .. trying to grapple with garlic .. Nice to see two young men interested in growing garlic!

 

[alp]

I remember that you do have to plant garlic now and plant them in a sunny spot as they require the heat to grow to good size. That's all I remember..

 

[Belmont]

Onions definitely were too wet, it was real rainy this year. 2 of them were rotten but the other 4 were fine.
Im not sure the variety - The package says only 'regular'. Winters can get as cold as -40 here, so Im definitely thinking Ill just throw em in the closet or something until spring, once Ive planted them.
Ill throw some potash in, too.

 

[alp]

Onions definitely were too wet, it was real rainy this year. 2 of them were rotten but the other 4 were fine.
Im not sure the variety - The package says only 'regular'. Winters can get as cold as -40 here, so Im definitely thinking Ill just throw em in the closet or something until spring, once Ive planted them.
Ill throw some potash in, too.

Yes, keep them. You can't really kill onions. I chucked them in the compost bin and they grew after one year IN it! Same for potatoes..

 

[Belmont]

To help dry out the dirt I removed about 8 cups, and replaced it with dry potting soil I had sitting around. I threw 2 handfuls of muriate of potash in and mixed thoroughly. Planted 3 garlic bulbs (Thought I had 6 but couldnt find the other 3) about 3 inches deep such that the very tip of the dried stalk was showing. Theres a little more than 6 inches between the bulbs. I threw the pot in my pantry in an effort to eliminate light exposure and prevent them growing early

 

[Belmont]

Heres a thought that just came to me:
Could I throw one of my onions in there too? Theres a fair amount of room in the middle of the pot, and i wanted to collect seed from one of my onions but they only flower every second year.

 

[zigs]

Garlic needs to go in now,

a/ to make root growth over winter and

b/ to get frosted.

The blubs won't divide up into cloves without frost

 

[Belmont]

So then should I put the garlic plants out over winter so they get frosted? And then bring them in when it gets real cold so they dont get frozen? If so, whats to keep them from sprouting?

 

[zigs]

Might be an idea, onion family can survive being frozen but i'm not sure about -40

 

[Belmont]

I think I'll wait until theres snow for the winter, first. When it comes time to bring it in I can sweep the snow off and keep it from getting too wet. I appreciate the advice, thanks!

 

[Belmont]

I screwed up. I assumed I was to plant the entire bulb, rather than individual cloves. After a little bored googling around on how to maximize yield, I figured out my error. Pulled the bulbs out, seperated the cloves. The soil is still way too wet, and I dont know what to do. How do I dry it? I dont imagine I have a lot of time, some of the cloves I aim to plant have already sprouted a green shoot and some roots even. I dont imagine they'll do well if theyre left out of the dirt for an extended period.

Most pressing issue right now is: How do I dry this soil out fast?

 

[Silentrunning]

When I lived in Florida I had a soggy area. I got landscape bricks from HD and raised the bed. Problem solved.

 

[Belmont]

I have them in a pot, I live in town with no room for a real garden.