Green Garlic (experimental)

Green garlic is ordinary garlic pulled young, before it bulbs: plant small cloves 3 in apart in fall and harvest Feb–March at scallion size. Inchelium Red softneck garlic goes into the ground as individual cloves in October or November, sits quietly through winter sending up thin green shoots, surges with growth in spring, then dies back to a papery-wrapped bulb by early summer that you cure and either eat or replant that fall to start the cycle again.

1. 1

   Clove Planting

   Late October to mid-November, Zone 8a

   You'll see You are handling loose, plump cloves you have just broken apart from a whole head, each still wearing its own papery skin, pointed on one end and flat where it attached to the basal plate on the other.

   Do Push each clove pointy-end up, 2 inches deep, into loosened bed soil, spacing cloves 4 to 6 inches apart, then cover with 2 to 3 inches of straw or leaf mulch.

   Details
2. 2

   Winter Shoots

   December through February, Zone 8a

   You'll see Thin, grass-like green shoots poke up through the mulch, sometimes pausing or even yellowing slightly during the coldest snaps, then greening back up as temperatures moderate.

   Do Leave the mulch in place, and don't fertilize yet; just make sure beds aren't sitting in standing water after heavy winter rain.

   Details
3. 3

   Spring Vegetative Growth

   March into April, Zone 8a

   You'll see Growth takes off fast now: leaves widen, turn a deeper green, and the plant can put out a new leaf every few days, reaching 12 to 18 inches tall with 6 or more leaves per plant.

   Do Feed with a nitrogen source every 3 to 4 weeks while leaves are actively growing, and keep soil evenly moist.

   Details
4. 4

   Bulbing

   Late April into May, Zone 8a

   You'll see The base of each plant visibly thickens as individual cloves form and swell underground; leaves are still green but growth slows compared to the spring surge.

   Do Cut off feeding entirely now, and ease back on watering slightly to encourage the bulb to firm up rather than stay soft and watery.

   Details
5. 5

   Harvest Cue: Leaf Die-Back

   Late May into June, Zone 8a

   You'll see The lowest, oldest leaves brown and die back first, working upward; by harvest time roughly 40 to 50 percent of the leaves on a plant should be brown while the upper leaves are still green.

   Do Watch leaf color closely from late May on and stop watering about a week before you plan to harvest.

   Details
6. 6

   Harvest

   Typically late May to mid-June, Zone 8a

   You'll see You'll see the bulb sitting just at or slightly below the soil surface, wrapped in dry-ish outer skins, with roots still anchoring it below.

   Do Loosen the soil around each bulb with a garden fork before lifting; never grab the top and pull, which can snap the stem or bruise the bulb.

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7. 7

   Curing

   2 to 4 weeks after harvest

   You'll see Over the curing period the outer skins go from slightly moist and dull to dry, papery, and rustling, and the stem where the leaves attach shrinks and tightens down.

   Do Hang bundles of 4 to 6 plants by the stems, or lay bulbs in a single layer on a screen or rack, somewhere shady, dry, and well-ventilated with good airflow.

   Details

Techniques — transplant, prune, propagate, divide, seed