planted mine 2 days ago. kind of late as we have had 3 good frosts down to 26f already but i always plant oct 1st. with no loses. z3b/4a. put in Georgian Fire from Keene garlic. 1st. time trying this variety.
Here is a good article on planting garlic:
https://www.growingformarket.com/articles/how-and-when-to-plant-garlic
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Trying out garlic for the first time. Purchased 3 types (Nootka Rose, Purple Glazer, Music) from Gurney’s and they arrived today. Unfortunately, I got home too late to get out there with my daughter and start planting. The directions basically say plant immediately. I put them back in the box and would like to give it a go tomorrow in the early evening. Is this the right time to plant for my zone, 7A?
Now’s good- get them in before the ground freezes, water thoroughly, mulch to prevent freezeout/frost heave seems to work for me.
Good luck and have fun!
Absolutely… However, another issue just arose. I checked the forecast and it looks like rain for the next few days. Not sure how my daughter will handle being out there with me while the rain comes down. She was very excited when I told her we needed to do some new planting after we opened the package today. I guess we can share the duties of umbrella holding.
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I myself would plant around November 1st in your zone, but it doesn’t matter that much. So wait till the weather is better. You have plenty of time. Usually before a rain is always good!
I’m in 5b/6a and I don’t plant till Oct 15th. I was prepping the bed today, not done yet, getting close.
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I’ll need a rain first just to be able to dig. It’s so dry everything is hard as a rock. We’ve had less than 2/10 of an inch of rain since September 1 here.
If it doesn’t change in the next couple weeks I’ll probably just stick the sprinkler out there and start wetting it down.
its feast or famine for you folks in MD isn’t it? your either flooding or drought conditions. i can’t remember the last time we had conditions like that here. theres always a shower or 2 that hits when its dry out.
Most of the mid Atlantic and Southeast seems to fall into that category. Feast or famine.
Even yesterday, I watched the heavy line of showers approaching dissolve as it got to us. I got 0.05”.
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Since then, we have received almost 5” of rain. More coming tomorrow.
I am going to plant the garlic. Freeze expected this weekend.
Do you fertilize at planting or wait until spring?
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I put down composted manure before planting. I plan to put some shredded leaves on top before winter. This would be all the food the garlic needs.
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Joe is right on the money here. Give the garlic all the food it needs in the fall, and you won’t have to worry about it next year. I’ve also used straight compost with good success, but a little manure wouldn’t hurt.
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composted manure and a sprinkle of bone meal and dolomite lime just before planting. 
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My garlic plants are bigger now than they were at HARVEST last year. Last year was rather pathetic. My theory was that the soil was too acidic because the pH was under 5.0 when I tested it. I limed and added a bunch of organic matter, and it seems to have worked.
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Lime is magic in excessively acid soil and organic matter is magic in most soils- especially for the onion family. Here in NY they traditionally grow onions in muck soil with around 30% organic matter compared to the 5-6% in a very good normal garden soil. Organic matter builds up with bad drainage and when they drain it out with deep trenches or canals it is very productive for onions, lettuce and broc and cab family vegges. But onions are almost exclusively grown in this type soil here.
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Next year, I think I will add some compost or manure when planting. I went with about 5-6" of straw after planting. Clearly that has shrunk down. Should I reapply?
my garlic last summer was stunted so i added blood/ bonemeal and some composted chic manure to my raised beds last fall and put in some new bulbs. should see a improvement this summer. was missing my garlic this winter. store bought doesn’t cut it! too bland for me. i like hot garlic.
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In my pic I posted today, you can see the old original straw in between the double row. I added some new stuff on the edges, where it had shrunk down, but it is still a few inches thick in the middle.