brown and tops will fall, indicating maturity. Irrigation should be terminated at this time to avoid bulb discoloration and bulb rots. To ensure bulbs are fully mature, remove the top layer of soil from the top of a few bulbs and check to make sure the bulbs are fully divided into distinct cloves (differentiated). Digging bulbs prematurely can result in spoilage during storage, while waiting too long can result in disease and/or discoloration of the bulbs.
Top-Setting Garlic (Hardnecks)
Top-setting garlic can be propagated either from cloves or bulbils. Bulbils should be planted in the late winter or early spring in a location where they can remain undisturbed for 1 1/2 years. In the fall of the first growing season, bulbils will form larger unsegmented bulbs called “rounds.” Left undisturbed, rounds will form segmented bulbs the following summer.
Top-setting garlic will form seedstalks in the late spring. What appears to be a single leaf will emerge from the center of the plant. This hollow stalk will reach 2 to 3 feet tall and form one or more coils on the end of the stalk, terminating in a heart-shaped spathe. Seedstalks can be removed when they form to force more energy into the developing cloves. Growers wishing to produce bulbils should leave the stalk undisturbed.
Harvest And Marketing
In sandy soils, bulbs can generally be pulled by hand or dug with a garden fork. Growers may wish to run a cutter blade or rod weeder below the bulb to cut the roots, particularly on clay soils.
After pulling, garlic may be cured in several ways. Larger growers may choose to top the bulbs and trim the roots immediately, placing the bulbs in burlap bags and allowing them to cure in the field for a few days. Bulbs may also be dried in a well-ventilated shed if rainfall is a problem. Rainfall on bulbs can result in storage problems.
Bulbs may also be pulled and windrowed in the field, folding leaves over the bulbs to protect them from the sun. After a week of drying,
tops and roots can be trimmed. Bulbs can then be cured further or graded and marketed.
Once bulbs are fully cured, they should be sized and graded for market. Garlic is generally marketed in 5-, 10-, 20-, and 30-lb cartons or 50-lb mesh sacks. Bulbs grown for dehydration are generally transported in bulk to the dehydrator. Garlic is best stored at a temperature of 32°F.
“USDA No. l” garlic should be of similar varietal characteristics, fully mature, and compact. Well-developed cloves should be free of dirt, mold, sunburn, staining, sprouts, cuts, roots, and insect and mechanical damage. Unless specified, bulbs should be at least 1 1/2 inches in diameter.
Each clove will produce a new bulb containing 5 to 16 new cloves. Growers saving cloves to plant next year’s crop will therefore have to hold back 10 to 12% of their crop for planting stock. The actual percentage will depend on the variety and the quality of the bulbs as well as the total acreage to be planted.
Smaller growers may wish to store and market garlic as a “ristra” by braiding leaves into a rope or wreath. Ornamental harvest wreaths made of garlic, dried chile, yucca pods, pine cones, and dried flowers can be marketed for the fall holiday season.
Pest Control
Garlic is susceptible to most onion diseases, including Botrytis, pink root rot, powdery mildew, and purple blotch. Good sanitation and long-term crop rotation are important, as well as the application of appropriate fungicides when necessary.
Onion thrips can be a major problem on garlic. Garlic growers should also scout for damage from cutworms, cabbage loopers, and wireworms. Check with your local county Extension agent for appropriate control measures.
Garlic has a very shallow root system. Like onions, it cannot withstand weed competition. Cultivation should be very shallow to prevent root damage. Pre- and postemergence herbicides are also available for weed control.
The original publication can be found here.
Author: Extension Vegetable Specialist and Assistant Professor, Department of Extension Plant Sciences, New Mexico State University. Revised by Stephanie Walker
College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University