Fertilizing Garlic

Extension recommends P and K in the fall and 2 side dressings of 25 to 50 pounds an acre of N in the spring once on emergence and again 3-4 weeks later.

In the past I have applied hot chicken manure right out of a house onto my garlic patch a week or 2 before planting the garlic, I worked it in well and applied lightly, I don’t have a rate.  What ever the ex’s manure spreader was to a 1/3 Acre of ground seemed to grow very nice garlic with no burning.

More recently I have applied draft animal manure (equine/bovine) prior to planting and applied one application of Kreher’s composted and granulated poultry manure (5-4-3), a 50# bag to 0.1 acre.  If I can get some poultry fresh poultry manure this fall I will not hesitate to go back to that method, but any manure is better than no manure.

Is that straw mulch? What are the little flags for? Curious here. Never did have luck with garlic. Did you ever plant garlic in the fall versus spring and if so which do you prefer? Would like to plant some, right now for us it would be a good time to think about it. Your about a good month ahead of us in planting time.

Mike

Erika – did you hand plant those rows?  They look a lot better than my efforts for straight and tidy!  I ask because I’ve never seen a garlic planter but did see a homemade version out of Canada on the show “Prairie Farm Report”.  It was a ride-on planter with 2 wheels (like a transplanter sort of) and they used cups made from plastic bottle caps I think.  Pulled with a garden tractor but pretty slow speed.

Here is where I cheated, though the field was plowed and cultimulched with the horses, I used the tractor to make these rows.  I have a Rain Flo water wheel transplanter with 2 super 26 wheels with removable spikes.  I used all spikes to get a dibble every 6″, I had them set right next to each other so that I have 2 close rows every 3′ on center.  I am hoping that we can make a frame so that we can eventually use this transplanter with a forecart and oxen.

Last November it was easy to do the familiar and use the tractor, plus I need to work on my driving draft animals straight skills. Just a note, the water wheel basically marked the rows, the tractor does not have a creep gear or hydro  feature so it goes too fast to ride and plant.  Second, it had rained and the ground hardened up and we had to hand dibble each hole deep enough to plant the garlic at the proper depth, over 8,000 hand bored holes = lots of blisters, I think next fall I will have a custom dibbler made, like a pry bar with a conical end.
Andy the straw will hopefully be enough because it would be unbearable to try to cultivate with all that straw. I have never cultivated garlic before, I mulch in November and I will go thru and hand weed the patch a couple times this summer. This is a new field to me, I expect a lot of weed pressure here, I already have clusters of lams quarters 3/4″ tall in some places.  Thanks Andy, I like a neat an tidy field, they are so much easier to manage that way.

URL not found 🙁

Sorry Erika – here’s the manufacturer’s site with similar video.  http://www.erme-france.com/eng/planteuses.html

Garlic is one of our favorite crops, we’ve been saving our seed and building the crop for 7 years now and the past two years have planted between 15,000-20,000 plants. We spend a full season preparing for planting in the fall which includes at least two fully grown out cover crops with manure spread on between them. Buckwheat early in the season which is known to be good for making P more available, followed by peas and oats planted early august. We feel this helps with out competing the weeds and adding lots of organic matter. Then typically plant the garlic right into the pea and oat residue after mowing it. Mulching with straw on top of that to insulate for the winter. It seems to us that this gives a slow and steady release of nutrients to the garlic as all the organic matter breaks down and less of an intensive nitrogen application all at once which would give the weeds the same boost in the spring right when they are looking for it.