Fertilize Your Garlic

For a big, healthy crop of garlic by summer, fertilize it in the spring - now.  Personally, I need to pull back some of the mulch that I placed there to insulate the garlic for a harsh winter, then fertilize.

Fertilize growing garlic plants either by side dressing, working in a little fertilizer along side each plant, or by broadcasting it all over the bed.  High nitrogen organic fertilizers such as bloodmeal or a synthetic source of nitrogen is best.  Rabbit droppings are an excellent option filled with nirtogen and act as a light mulch.  My mother uses buckets of seaweed from the marshes in front of their house to lightly blanket her plants.

Fertilize garlic again just before the bulbs begin to swell in response to lengthening daylight (mid-May).

Make sure that you keep garlic well weeded since it does not tolerate much competition. As the spring weather dries, water your garlic to a depth of two feet every 8 to 10 days.  As mid-summer approaches, taper off the watering.

Stay tuned for more on garlic as summer is upon us.

For more information on growing garlic, check out Boundary Garlic Farm.