Make Sure to Always Watch Your Garlic: Here's Why It's Important 4 Comments
Inspecting Your Garlic Plants
Inspecting and observing the garlic plants regularly is a very important job that is often put to the side for other demanding things. Every gardener and farmer knows how many tasks need attention during the growing season and it can be hard to get around to everything quickly enough.
Scouting, however, is important because it can identify issues or problems that may need to be dealt with before they get out of hand. This usually saves you time in the long run and can even catch things before they truly damage the crop.
How Often and
Good scouting means a regular walkthrough of all the areas that have garlic growing at least once or twice a week. Some growers check on their garlic every day during important periods like scape emergence or at harvest time.
No matter how often you check on your garlic, it is important to be consistent. There is no point scouting the crop for 10 days straight and then stop because you find the whole process too much work. It is better to come up with a schedule that works for you so that you continue the inspections.
What should I look For?
While scouting, it's important to be focused on the garlic and not daydreaming about all the other work that still needs to be done.
You should be looking for any things that might be affecting the garlic such as insects, diseases or even nutrient deficiencies that might show up as yellowing of the leaves or poor growth.
Although garlic does not have as many insect pests compared to other vegetables and is often free of disease if the grower has good practices in place, it is crucial to know that there are still issues that can affect your plants and bulbs.
Learn About The Problems That Affect Garlic
Learning about what diseases, insects and nutrient deficiencies can affect garlic is always a good thing so that you can know what to look for. There are many books and resources available and it is a good practice for any serious garlic grower to do as much research and learning as possible.
It's also a very good idea to touch base with any agricultural extension services that your provincial (or state) government might have for vegetable growers. Some provinces and states have very good extension staff that have a lot of knowledge regarding garlic and other vegetable crops.
About the Author: John Côté owns and operates John Boy Farms with his family who have been farming the same land for over 140 years. As an agronomist and experienced farmer, he helps other growers learn how to grow garlic successfully. He has written many articles and is the author of The Master Guide to Growing Big Garlic.
Comments
John Boy Farms on February 21, 2021 13:00
In Minnesota, you normally wouldn’t expect to see any top growth until the soil warms up in spring. No top growth through the winter is a good thing as it protects the plants from the harsh cold. If the soil isn’t covered by snow or mulch, then there is always a chance of winter kill if temperatures become extremely cold. However, garlic is very hardy and often will survive anyway.
Dennis Ryks on February 21, 2021 13:00
I live in west central MN. I planted 60 plants of 4 verities of garlic (I’m a 1st time grower) in Early to mid October and have seen no growth since. The weather has been brutally cold from late Janjars to mid February should I be concerned?
John Boy Farms on January 11, 2021 02:02
The best thing to do is to leave the garlic alone. I wouldn’t add any more compost, however, you can add more straw (or something fuffy) that won’t smother the garlic. You shouldn’t cut the garlic as that would do more harm than good. Garlic leaves are very hardy and can usually handle freezing temperatures between -9 and -14 degrees C depending on the variety. If temperatures fall lower, the leaves may burn a bit and/or die, but the cloves should grow new leaves once warmer temperatures arrive. We have had garlic poke out of the ground on our farm where the temperatures drop to -35 degrees C in the winter and the garlic still survives.
Jo on January 11, 2021 02:02
I live on Vancouver Island (south). Planted 4 types of garlic in a new raised garden bed late October as per planting instructions. I noticed shoots in early Dec. added another 5-6 in. Of compost and mulch. Again, Mid Jan. I have shoots of green. Should I cut them back to the bulb. It has been a fairly warm winter. I,m worried one frost might kill all of them.