by Noel
This week I have started to plant overwintering garlic. It can be planted anytime from September until March, but highest yields come from Autumn plantings, as the roots have time to establish. I chose two varieties, which were Germidour and Vallelado.
Ground preparation started in June by sowing an over summer cover crop of buckwheat, phacelia, summer vetch, crimson and Persian clover, as seen below. This has multiple benefits for the soil, including accumulating minerals and trace elements for the following crop. It creates a large amount of biomass, and the flowers attract lots of bees and other insects over the summer. The crop was chopped and lightly cultivated in in early September in preparation for garlic planting. BD 500P was sprayed over the ground, which helps to speed up the breakdown of the crop residue and helps restructure the soil from the effects of the tillage.
Marking out and planting was done by hand on beds 90cm wide and 50m long. The total area planted is a quarter of an acre and approx. 20,000 bulbs. After planting, pea and barley straw bales, which were harvested from the adjacent field, were rolled out to cover the beds. This protects bare soil over winter from rain, preventing surface compaction and nutrient leaching and acts as a weed suppressant while allowing the garlic to grow though. The straw will begin to break down in spring providing food for soil biology, which in turn will feed the garlic crop.
All going well the garlic will be harvested in June of next year.
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