@moose71 or @jcguarneri, I can’t find the post where it was discussed at what spacing to plant garlic. I am working on my new garlic bed, and I should figure out how many cloves I can plant per given area. I think I am only going to try 1# of Music this year, but I want to leave some room for expanding in future years.
Is 40 cloves/# a safe assumption?
30 cloves/# more realistic?
And Jay, can you tell me approximate planting and harvesting dates when you were in Kansas, if you recall? Sorry, this is somewhere on the forum, I am just missing it I am sure! Thanks, KS
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I’ve always planted them in wide beds with 6-8" grid spacing. Planting time is anywhere after the first frost but before the ground is frozen. I like to err on the later end, so I was usually almost to Thanksgiving in Kansas. Harvest depends on the variety, anywhere from early July to August. I can’t remember for Music. My seed garlic didn’t like moving back East, so I’ve had a bit of a hiatus…
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Thanks for the reply @jcguarneri !
Do you mulch the area after you plant the cloves?
Also assuming that the garlic stores pretty well, since you guys talk about having garlic throughout the winter, or freezing and drying it if quality starts to deteriorate.
So when save some cloves back to plant, you only need to store it from say August to November, so no problems with spoilage in that amount of time? Store bought garlic does not last very long in my kitchen before it starts going soft and turning brown, so I am wondering how well home-grown will last for me.
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Yep, lots of mulch! 4-6" of prairie hay works great. As for storage, there are a lot of factors, ifs, ands, buts, etc… but generally speaking if harvested at the right time, cured properly, and stored at cool (but not cold 50-60 is probably ideal) temps and dry, it should last anywhere from 6 months to a year, depending on variety. Most of the ones that are worth growing for the special flavor are more in the 7-9 month range. The silverskin type softnecks like you usually see in the store are the best keepers. Look for the book Growing Great Garlic by Ron Engeland. It has the full scoop on factors to consider, and is just a plain good read.
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i dont mulch mine but our heavy snowfalls keep them well insulated here. usually plant mine late sept early oct. but I’m in z4a.
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Garlic grows best in rich organic soil. I have 3 or 4 varieties that are perennial in north Alabama. Music is not one of them. Ivans J16 is one that I rely on. Elephant Garlic is also reliable, but flavor is not as good as the hardneck and rocambole varieties.
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OK, I have good information now so I am sure to succeed! 
Thanks so much for your help. Looking forward to doing a better job with garlic. I will definitely look up Growing Great Garlic.
@moose71, we can’t count on adequate snowfall here to insulate, and it doesn’t usually stick around long when we do get it, but that is one bonus for you and all of the snow you get! 
@Fusion_power, I like the Elephant Garlic for the large sized cloves and mild flavor. Not sure how it would do here, but might give it a try in a year or two.
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@KSprairie,
Last year someone posted a video series from the cooperative extension, university of Maine on how to plant, harvest and dry garlics. It is very helpful, short, easy to understand video series.
Google University of Maine, growing garlic. You will find all 3 videos.
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Awesome, thanks @mamuang! Garlic is one of those things I haven’t invested much time or effort in yet. With all these great resources, I don’t have any excuses! This year is a great time for me to work on building up a few new planting areas, so garlic is finally getting a spot of its very own.
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It’s a bit different from other vegetables, but it’s super easy once you wrap your head around it. You’ll wonder why you haven’t been doing it all along! Basically, you treat them like tulips in the fall, lettuce in the spring and early summer, and then mostly ignore them until about 40% of the foliage has died, at which point you dig them.
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Thanks so much for the links @dimitri_7a, I Got em bookmarked!!
@jcguarneri, I use a lot of garlic in the kitchen, so it makes sense to grow my own. Plus I don’t get to Mhk for shopping very often and our local selection is pretty dismal at times. I go without when the only garlic available has been grown in China.
My half-hearted efforts in the past were pathetic! I didn’t really prep my areas, didn’t buy good quality seed cloves, didn’t mulch enough, etc.
Seeing so many pictures here of great looking stands of garlic
has inspired me. I really appreciate all the help and advice from forum members! 
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I totally forgot about asparagus until I picked some today. Only 30 minutes between picking and steaming. It had such a fresh, sweet flavor. It tasted like spring! Grocery store asparagus can’t compare.
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Underappreciated vegetable (in the West, anyway): Chinese cabbage. Easy, nutritious and tasty, raw or cooked. Bolt-resistant hybrids (my go-to is “Blues”) can be grown throughout season.
I agree that lettuce is a sine qua non for the garden. I grow many romaine, butterhead and leaf types, though I often have leaf spot and sometimes bottom rot issues in my Kentucky growing conditions. I have found that speckled lettuces actually resist diseases here better than most other types. This includes “Freckles” (aka “Forellenschluss”), “Bunte Forellenschluss,” “Sanguine Ameliore,” and “Flashy Butter Oak” (among other of the Frank Morton-bred speckled types). Something to keep in mind, anyway.
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I visited Washington and Oregon in 2012 and wound up at Frank Morton’s place looking through his peppers. He had 4 varieties being grown for seed at the time including Stocky Red Roaster, Gatherer’s Gold, Little Bells, and Karma the best I recall. We talked at least 30 minutes and along the way discussed why he could not get an orange sweet pepper with the existing genetics. Short version, he needed the tangerine gene which was not present in anything he was growing. He let me grab one pepper each of the 4 varieties. Now keep in mind that this is his bread and butter, literally the seed he sells and I made off with 4 ripe peppers. I ate the peppers and brought the seed home. It took 2 years, but I finally got a cross between Orange Bell and Little Bells and grew out the seed. I emailed Frank and asked if he wanted some F2 seed. I sent about 100 seed and now if you look on wildgardenseeds, you will find a few new ORANGE peppers listed. I still think he is a very patient man.
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That is so cool @Fusion_power ! Orange bell peppers are my favorite of all peppers. They have a citrus like flavor to me. I haven’t grown any from seed that I thought were exceptional, I buy the hybrid Orange Blaze. I bookmarked the page for the Stoplight Orange cross you made and will try remember to order it for next year!
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Has anyone successfully grown Caucasian Spinach? (Hablitzia tamnoides)? The nutritional specs are stellar.
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I am trying to grow Hablitzia this year. Few seeds germinated but they are so weak that I don’t know if they will make it.
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I just discovered this plant about a week ago. On website that specializes in homesteading and growing edibles. I Focus on edible landscaping. I was able to buy small seedlings about an inch and a half tall with nice roots that are about 3 to 4 inches, wrapped in what looks like brown moist butcher paper, I planted them today. They looked quite healthy. I also bought 1000 seats, and I’m following the recommendation to coach try to find them for at least 10 days. I got the ceilings as a Headstart/shortcut. It’s called Edgewood Nursery:
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Kate6b, best of luck.
This is the coldest April I’ve ever seen on the side of the Atlantic
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