5 Common Garlic Planting Mistakes To Avoid!
video description
Date: 2025-11-01
Related videos
Comments and reviews: 20
epic_gardening
I actually found that if you soak the garlic in water for a day or two at least my luck but can take about a week like the bottom where the roots would grow you can trick kit into rooting and sprouting to start developing. Now granted while the greens do grow long and big I do not know if it would actually develop bulbs or just only the greens which is honestly very interesting if it actually requires the cold first, however you can make it cold then soak the roots into water for easy rooting and make sure it could develop into a bulb or so I heard. Now I only ever grew and ate the greens while the small gloves just rotted in the ground which I assume was because I accidently removed the paper like skin however I am not sure if that was the cause of the rotting as peeling the cloves can be weird and you might accidently remove all that skin anyways
However the greens may have a higher level of antioxidants I am not sure that's what I heard but you literally can harvest it a lot of growing for the greens. But either way I find it interesting that there are two ways to grow the Garlic and yes both ways can lead to it bolting however again I am not sure if putting it in water would cause it to produce a bigger bulb as I only know that it will grow the greens or it's leaves and it can bolt
Also like potatoes it is recommended to get rid of the scape when you see it that way it is telling the plant to focus on bulb development and you are not splitting the energy between flower and eventually true seed development and bulb development. Again reason why you cut off any flowers of a potato plant is to encourage tuber development unless you really want the true seeds and sometimes the plant flowers without producing any potatoes not even small ones. but don't have two potatoes in one bucket as they will compete for the resources meaning there is not enough potassium to make the tuber s but enough Nitrogen to grow the leaves and whatever is needed for it to bloom but again for some reason no tubers. Like again it is very rare for a potato plant to reach the end of it's life and there are no tubers at all as usually there is no potassium deficiency to cause that
Again it is rare to not get any tubers at all during a growth cycle for potatoes as usually you are supposed to at least get the small baby ones but two potatoes one bucket is just too much as they are heavy feeders and while they will flower and grow they won't produce tubers unless there is only 1 per bucket
reply
I actually found that if you soak the garlic in water for a day or two at least my luck but can take about a week like the bottom where the roots would grow you can trick kit into rooting and sprouting to start developing. Now granted while the greens do grow long and big I do not know if it would actually develop bulbs or just only the greens which is honestly very interesting if it actually requires the cold first, however you can make it cold then soak the roots into water for easy rooting and make sure it could develop into a bulb or so I heard. Now I only ever grew and ate the greens while the small gloves just rotted in the ground which I assume was because I accidently removed the paper like skin however I am not sure if that was the cause of the rotting as peeling the cloves can be weird and you might accidently remove all that skin anyways
However the greens may have a higher level of antioxidants I am not sure that's what I heard but you literally can harvest it a lot of growing for the greens. But either way I find it interesting that there are two ways to grow the Garlic and yes both ways can lead to it bolting however again I am not sure if putting it in water would cause it to produce a bigger bulb as I only know that it will grow the greens or it's leaves and it can bolt
Also like potatoes it is recommended to get rid of the scape when you see it that way it is telling the plant to focus on bulb development and you are not splitting the energy between flower and eventually true seed development and bulb development. Again reason why you cut off any flowers of a potato plant is to encourage tuber development unless you really want the true seeds and sometimes the plant flowers without producing any potatoes not even small ones. but don't have two potatoes in one bucket as they will compete for the resources meaning there is not enough potassium to make the tuber s but enough Nitrogen to grow the leaves and whatever is needed for it to bloom but again for some reason no tubers. Like again it is very rare for a potato plant to reach the end of it's life and there are no tubers at all as usually there is no potassium deficiency to cause that
Again it is rare to not get any tubers at all during a growth cycle for potatoes as usually you are supposed to at least get the small baby ones but two potatoes one bucket is just too much as they are heavy feeders and while they will flower and grow they won't produce tubers unless there is only 1 per bucket
reply
FloraM44
My Dad has been growing garlic on our farm in Niagara Falls Ontario Canada for, oh, 40 years or so. Since we just planted ours yesterday and it's fresh in my mind, here's all his tips for our garden:
-Till well (we have a lot of clay so if you don't, congrats and enjoy skipping this step lol)
- dig a trench about 3 deep
- throw in some fertilizer 10-10-10 (though yesterday he grabbed the 46-0-0 bag by accident and said it doesn't matter when I told him lol)
- throw in bulbs about every 4
- go back and space them a little better (throwing can lead them to fall all over the place)
- don't worry about orientation
- hoe the soil over the trench, creating a new trench
- do the same thing in that trench
- bring the soil over that trench, so now you basically have 2 rows in one small area, with lower soil trenches on either side where the excess rain will sit after a storm, leaving your garlic lifted a bit from the bottom.
No mulch, just a good amount of soil overtop. He's been using cloves from the same hardneck garlic generation after generation and it seems to work well because the cloves are about 4x the size as grocery store ones!
reply
My Dad has been growing garlic on our farm in Niagara Falls Ontario Canada for, oh, 40 years or so. Since we just planted ours yesterday and it's fresh in my mind, here's all his tips for our garden:
-Till well (we have a lot of clay so if you don't, congrats and enjoy skipping this step lol)
- dig a trench about 3 deep
- throw in some fertilizer 10-10-10 (though yesterday he grabbed the 46-0-0 bag by accident and said it doesn't matter when I told him lol)
- throw in bulbs about every 4
- go back and space them a little better (throwing can lead them to fall all over the place)
- don't worry about orientation
- hoe the soil over the trench, creating a new trench
- do the same thing in that trench
- bring the soil over that trench, so now you basically have 2 rows in one small area, with lower soil trenches on either side where the excess rain will sit after a storm, leaving your garlic lifted a bit from the bottom.
No mulch, just a good amount of soil overtop. He's been using cloves from the same hardneck garlic generation after generation and it seems to work well because the cloves are about 4x the size as grocery store ones!
reply
jockdasher6151
First, I don't care about variety as long as I get a good yield. Second, I can attest to the fact that garlic heads purchased from most grocery stores won't grow in most instances because they've been chemically treated NOT to grow. Lastly, I've had good success growing garlic purchased from T. Joe's -- which costs 49 cents a head vice $20-$35 a pound for seed garlic purchased from seed vendors. If my garlic doesn't come up in the spring, I till the area and plant something else, not much lost.
reply
First, I don't care about variety as long as I get a good yield. Second, I can attest to the fact that garlic heads purchased from most grocery stores won't grow in most instances because they've been chemically treated NOT to grow. Lastly, I've had good success growing garlic purchased from T. Joe's -- which costs 49 cents a head vice $20-$35 a pound for seed garlic purchased from seed vendors. If my garlic doesn't come up in the spring, I till the area and plant something else, not much lost.
reply
kittiew260
Ok so i live cold climate and my biggest failure is planting too soon. My 1st frost date is typically 10/5, but here i sit 10/30 & no frost. I never plant garlic before first solid frost. Timing is extending every season. No offense SD guys get a true northern gardener to speak up soils.
PS happy to see Botanical Interest now has a podcast with Nicole at flower hill farm. Now she's amazing and a true up & down northern grower flowers and veggies
reply
Ok so i live cold climate and my biggest failure is planting too soon. My 1st frost date is typically 10/5, but here i sit 10/30 & no frost. I never plant garlic before first solid frost. Timing is extending every season. No offense SD guys get a true northern gardener to speak up soils.
PS happy to see Botanical Interest now has a podcast with Nicole at flower hill farm. Now she's amazing and a true up & down northern grower flowers and veggies
reply
jimbox114
I know you say avoid store garlic but I have grown amazing garlic using organic California grown garlic. Avoid that garbage from China they bleach it and do lord only knows what to it. The prices for seed garlic are ridiculous. I use dead leaves for a mulch. Plentiful and free. I grow it in a raised bed. I rotate each year. I saved my largest harvests and planted them. We have chickens and actively compost which is what I use for fertilizer.
reply
I know you say avoid store garlic but I have grown amazing garlic using organic California grown garlic. Avoid that garbage from China they bleach it and do lord only knows what to it. The prices for seed garlic are ridiculous. I use dead leaves for a mulch. Plentiful and free. I grow it in a raised bed. I rotate each year. I saved my largest harvests and planted them. We have chickens and actively compost which is what I use for fertilizer.
reply
fuzzypumpkin7743
In zone 6a, I planted about 60 cloves two weeks ago. Fresh Vigoro soil (new garden bed) so there should be some fertilizer in it and I chop & dropped a kale plant on top for mulch, after covering the bed with chicken wire because we have some very naughty chipmunks. It was a mammoth kale plant, probably 4 feet in each direction. I'll start giving it regular fertilization in the spring.
reply
In zone 6a, I planted about 60 cloves two weeks ago. Fresh Vigoro soil (new garden bed) so there should be some fertilizer in it and I chop & dropped a kale plant on top for mulch, after covering the bed with chicken wire because we have some very naughty chipmunks. It was a mammoth kale plant, probably 4 feet in each direction. I'll start giving it regular fertilization in the spring.
reply
epic_gardening
I'm in the UK on the border between 7b and 8a. In addition to that our town has a microclimate. I have to refridgerate my garlic as I can't be sure we'll have a long enough and cold enough period in the winter.
I had a mad moment and split my bulbs into cloves before chilling them. It was interesting to see the roots on the cloves when I came to plant them a few days ago.
reply
I'm in the UK on the border between 7b and 8a. In addition to that our town has a microclimate. I have to refridgerate my garlic as I can't be sure we'll have a long enough and cold enough period in the winter.
I had a mad moment and split my bulbs into cloves before chilling them. It was interesting to see the roots on the cloves when I came to plant them a few days ago.
reply
nikitavanhoose405
I'm 48 years old, ben gardening since I was a kid helping my parents in their gardens, and I had been told for many years that the size of the clove you put in the ground, directly affects the size of the bulb you get in the end. However, a lot of agricultural experts are now claiming that clove size doesn't directly correlate to bulb size, so who knows.
reply
I'm 48 years old, ben gardening since I was a kid helping my parents in their gardens, and I had been told for many years that the size of the clove you put in the ground, directly affects the size of the bulb you get in the end. However, a lot of agricultural experts are now claiming that clove size doesn't directly correlate to bulb size, so who knows.
reply
wintersthe3rd725
You are one of the only gardeners I’ve heard to use chicken manure at planting! I cleaned my deep litter coop out after I planted my bulbs last year and covered the area with the debris. My bulbs were gigantic! It will slowly feed the soil over winter time and be available for once their upper foliage pops in the spring.
reply
You are one of the only gardeners I’ve heard to use chicken manure at planting! I cleaned my deep litter coop out after I planted my bulbs last year and covered the area with the debris. My bulbs were gigantic! It will slowly feed the soil over winter time and be available for once their upper foliage pops in the spring.
reply
jellyfishsalad5926
Another mistake that I discovered this year is overwatering and when you over water the garlic rots in the soil. The reason I overwatered was because I was trying to squirt aphids off with a hose and unfortunately doing that everyday put way too much water on the garlic. Anyway, live and learn. Cheers and Happy growing!
reply
Another mistake that I discovered this year is overwatering and when you over water the garlic rots in the soil. The reason I overwatered was because I was trying to squirt aphids off with a hose and unfortunately doing that everyday put way too much water on the garlic. Anyway, live and learn. Cheers and Happy growing!
reply
mustardtiger9265
i tried planting elephant garlic from the grocery store this year just to see what happens. mostly because it is 3-4x as expensive to order it online. it had the root cap fully intact and i was able to pick the biggest heads. of course i still ordered seed garlic to plant along side it for the varieties i wanted.
reply
i tried planting elephant garlic from the grocery store this year just to see what happens. mostly because it is 3-4x as expensive to order it online. it had the root cap fully intact and i was able to pick the biggest heads. of course i still ordered seed garlic to plant along side it for the varieties i wanted.
reply
prana2000
I don't think the recommendation to plant garlic 4-6 weeks before first frost is correct. That would mean mid-Sept for me, which is still very hot in my zone 7, and it also doesn't match up with your chart (which says Oct-Nov. Did you mean 4-6 weeks before the ground freezes Because that would make more sense.
reply
I don't think the recommendation to plant garlic 4-6 weeks before first frost is correct. That would mean mid-Sept for me, which is still very hot in my zone 7, and it also doesn't match up with your chart (which says Oct-Nov. Did you mean 4-6 weeks before the ground freezes Because that would make more sense.
reply
markdwolf3198
Can you grow garlic in Minnesota You mention that the ground can't freeze and to add mulch to prevent that from happening, but here the ground freezes around 2 feet deep regardless of how much mulch you heap on top. You also address watering every week, kinda impossible to do with the ground being frozen.
reply
Can you grow garlic in Minnesota You mention that the ground can't freeze and to add mulch to prevent that from happening, but here the ground freezes around 2 feet deep regardless of how much mulch you heap on top. You also address watering every week, kinda impossible to do with the ground being frozen.
reply
jeannamcgregor9967
Last year I fertilized my garlic on planting with a granulated organic fertilizer, but that attracted raccoons who dug up every bulb multiple times, trashing the whole crop. This year I'm planting under gopher wire but that's a major pain. Any other solutions
reply
Last year I fertilized my garlic on planting with a granulated organic fertilizer, but that attracted raccoons who dug up every bulb multiple times, trashing the whole crop. This year I'm planting under gopher wire but that's a major pain. Any other solutions
reply
epic_gardening
Thank you for video! I am getting my soil ready for planting this weekend and I think I will plant garlic next month. This year my harvest was really good but i planted only 30 cloves, this year I am ready with over 500 cloves to plant
reply
Thank you for video! I am getting my soil ready for planting this weekend and I think I will plant garlic next month. This year my harvest was really good but i planted only 30 cloves, this year I am ready with over 500 cloves to plant
reply
FatcatandFriends
I love that you share your failures. Your videos never make me feel badly about my gardening skills (nor does it make me feel like I NEED to buy something to be successful, which is very rare these days in the social media world.
reply
I love that you share your failures. Your videos never make me feel badly about my gardening skills (nor does it make me feel like I NEED to buy something to be successful, which is very rare these days in the social media world.
reply
smile30981
Perfect timing for me in Denver zone 5, I'll be planting tomorrow morning, thanks for the tips. And of course, I bought from Botanical Interests! We've already dipped into the 20's F a few times so I guess I'm a bit late LOL
reply
Perfect timing for me in Denver zone 5, I'll be planting tomorrow morning, thanks for the tips. And of course, I bought from Botanical Interests! We've already dipped into the 20's F a few times so I guess I'm a bit late LOL
reply
crystalprince8130
I planted my garlic a few weeks ago, and then I interplanted a few brassicas since I didn’t anticipate them growing very much in the fall. Is this a mistake and should I move the brassicas before they get too large
reply
I planted my garlic a few weeks ago, and then I interplanted a few brassicas since I didn’t anticipate them growing very much in the fall. Is this a mistake and should I move the brassicas before they get too large
reply
Samcapasso
So, you give some spacing guidance of 6in, but it seems like right at the end the rows are well spaced out, but the plants in the rows are more tightly packed (maybe 4in. Is it 6in in all directions or just between rows
reply
So, you give some spacing guidance of 6in, but it seems like right at the end the rows are well spaced out, but the plants in the rows are more tightly packed (maybe 4in. Is it 6in in all directions or just between rows
reply
51rwyatt
Just planted my garlic. I went a lot denser this time, 6 spacing in-row and 10 between rows, but I tried to use only the biggest cloves. I'm hoping to more than double my garlic harvest in the same space. Here's hoping.
reply
Just planted my garlic. I went a lot denser this time, 6 spacing in-row and 10 between rows, but I tried to use only the biggest cloves. I'm hoping to more than double my garlic harvest in the same space. Here's hoping.
reply
Add a review, comment
Other channel videos
