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Add some garlic to your garden now

Most vegetables will thank you for this pest-fighting companion

Garlic at planting in a raised bed
Plant garlic now and you'll have plenty to go with those summer tomatoes.
(Photo: Kathy Morrison)



Is there room for garlic in your garden? If not, there should be!

This easy-to-grow and flavorful crop does more than season food. It also helps protect your garden from several pesky pests. But be careful where you plant it; not all vegetables like garlic as a neighbor.

This week is traditional planting time for garlic in Northern California. Plant on the shortest day (or close to it), then harvest on the longest day (which will be June 20). That planting/harvest schedule gives garlic bulbs six months to mature (which is about just right).

Why grow your own garlic? For starters, we eat a lot of it, averaging 2.5 pounds per person each year.

California is the Garlic State, producing most of the nation’s supply. Why? It grows great in our mild climate.

The best garlic to grow in Sacramento? According to UC Davis, go for “softneck” or silver skin varieties. These varieties put their energy into making plump bulbs and rarely bolt. California Early and California Late are among the most popular softneck garlic varieties to grow here.

“Hardneck” varieties, also called “top-setting garlic,” produce a strong stem or “scape,” which is its own culinary delight. Top-setters also yield dozens of little bulbils – which look like little mini cloves – at the top of that scape. Also like cloves, those bulbils can be planted to produce new garlic plants. The most common hardneck variety grown in California is Creole, a popular purple-skinned garlic that’s a favorite in Mexico.

Garlic plants do double duty as a natural pest deterrent. Among the pests that stay away from garlic are codling moths, spider mites, aphids, ants and snails, plus several species of flies and gnats.

Deer and rabbits don’t like garlic either. Strategically planted at the perimeters of the garden, garlic can form a scent barrier to these hungry critters.

Garlic naturally builds sulfur content in soil, acting as a natural fungicide. But not all vegetables appreciate this extra sulfur. Avoid planting garlic near asparagus, beans, peas, parsley or sage; it will actually stunt their growth.

For its own health, garlic can be finicky about its planting place, too. Avoid planting garlic in the same spot where onions, garlic or other alliums have grown in the past two or three years; that cuts down on potential pest problems and other issues.

Here are more tips for garlic-growing success:

* Garlic needs sun for success; choose a spot with full sun. But they don’t need much space; allow 3 to 4 inches of room between plants.

* Garlic needs good drainage. Plant in raised beds or containers for best results. Add a few scoops of well-aged compost before planting.

* Plant the individual cloves, not a whole bulb. Break apart a bulb within 24 hours of planting; that preserves the piece of “foot” at the base of the clove that will form new roots.

* Plant the cloves 2 inches deep with the pointy end up, spaced 6 to 8 inches apart. Water once, then let rest. They’ll need water once a week through January and early February; usually rain will take care of that irrigation.

* After the cloves sprout, water once or twice a week. Avoid soggy soil (that prompts rot), but keep soil from completely drying out.

* Garlic doesn’t like competition; remove any weeds around the young plants.

For lots more on growing great garlic (and onions, too), visit the Vegetable Research and Information Center resource page from the UC Cooperative Extension:
https://vric.ucdavis.edu/veg_info_crop/garlic.htm

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Flowers in My Back Yard Series

Aug. 25: Crape myrtles, Sacramento's unofficial tree of summer

Aug. 18: Pollinators adore scabiosa, aka pincushion flower

Aug. 11: Hardy hibiscus adds big tropical impact

Aug. 4: Dianthus a deceptively hardy flower

July 28: Naked Ladies put on summer show

July 21: Thank Luther Burbank for these long-lasting beauties (Shasta daisies)

July 14: How to keep hydrangeas happy

July 7: Grow these bright cosmos for bees and butterflies

June 30: Agapanthus adds blue fireworks to the garden

June 23: Easy-care gazanias fill those hot corners

June 16: Daylilies are perfect for water-wise gardens (and a lot more)

June 9: Grow coneflowers for pollinators -- and yourself

June 2: Sunflowers capture Sacramento's summer attitude

May 29: Are your roses going 'blind'?

May 26: Zinnias are the summer flowers every garden needs

May 19: Plant dahlias now for late-summer flower power

May 12: Know your coreopsis from your bidens

May 5: Mums the word on Mother's Day weekend

April 28: Majestic Matilija poppy is worth a look

April 21: Celebrate roses, America's favorite flower

April 14: Small flowers with outsized impact

April 7: Calendulas do double duty

April 3: Make Easter lilies last for years to come

March 31: In praise of a pollinator magnet (small-leaf salvias)

March 24: Azaleas brighten shady spots

March 17: The perfect flower for beginners? Try zonal geraniums

March 10: Keep camellias happy for years to come

March 3: Fruit tree blossoms are a fleeting joy

Feb. 27: Are your roses looking rusty?

Feb. 24: Treasure spring daffodils now and for years to come

Feb. 17: How and why to grow wildflowers

Feb. 10: Let's talk Valentine's Day roses

Feb. 3: Why grow flowers?

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Taste Summer! E-cookbook

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Find our summer recipes here!

Garden checklist for week of Aug. 30

Enjoy this mild late-summer weather – and get to work!

* September starts another season in the vegetable garden. Now is the time to plant for fall. The warm soil will get these veggies off to a fast start.

* Keep harvesting tomatoes, peppers, squash, melons and eggplant.

* Compost annuals and vegetable crops that have finished producing.

* Cultivate and add compost to the soil to replenish its nutrients for fall and winter vegetables and flowers.

* Fertilize deciduous fruit trees.

* Plant onions, lettuce, peas, radishes, turnips, beets, carrots, bok choy, spinach and potatoes directly into the vegetable beds.

* Transplant cabbage, broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower as well as lettuce seedlings.

* Sow seeds of California poppies, clarkia and African daisies. Transplant cool-weather annuals such as pansies, violas, fairy primroses, calendulas, stocks and snapdragons.

* Divide and replant bulbs, rhizomes and perennials.

* Dig up and divide daylilies as they complete their bloom cycle.

* Divide and transplant peonies that have become overcrowded. Replant with “eyes” about an inch below the soil surface.

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Taste Spring! E-cookbook

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Taste Winter! E-cookbook

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Hints for choosing tomato seeds

Starting in seed starting

Why winter is the perfect time to plant fruit trees

When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants

How to squeeze more food into less space

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Plant a fruit tree now -- for later

Win the weed war by tackling them in winter

Tips for planting bare-root trees, shrubs and vegetables

Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space

Ways to win the fight against weeds

FALL

Add asparagus to your edible garden

Soggy soil and what to do about it

Plant artichokes now; enjoy for years to come

It's late November, and your peach tree needs spraying

What to do with all those fallen leaves?

Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden

Plant a pea patch for you and your garden

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Change is in the autumn air 

We don't talk (enough) about beets

Fava beans do double duty

Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?

How to prolong the fall tomato harvest 

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Time to shut it down? 

How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch

Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning

To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?

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Grow food while saving water

Enhance your food with edible flowers

Why won't my tomatoes turn red?

A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty

Does this plant need water?

 Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions

How to grow summer salad greens

 Weird stuff that's perfectly normal

SPRING

Help pollinators help your garden

Battling early-season tomato pests

Make your own compost

Where are the bees when you need them?

How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days

Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can

Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success

What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?

Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)

Grow culinary herbs in containers

When to plant summer vegetables

Don't be fooled by these garden myths

Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth