Garlic is relatively self-sufficient, so just a bit of effort on your part can help lead to an optimized crop.
Amendments – garlic is a heavy nitrogen (N) feeder. The recommendation for amending garlic with N is as follows: 40lbs/acre of N should be applied immediately after planting (in the fall – if you missed this step – your garlic will be fine! Maybe just a tad bit smaller), another 40lbs/acre in March, and another 40lbs/acre in April. The heck?!# Here is how to figure out what that means. If your garlic patch is 100 square feet (the equivalent of 2.2% of one acre) then you need to apply 2.2% * 40lbs = .09lbs (1.5 ounces) of N in the patch. But, N doesn’t really come in 100% purity. If you buy fertilizer in the store you might, for example, see a fertilizer bag that indicates the N-P-K ratio is “10-10-10.” This means, that 10% of the contents of the bag are N, 10% are Phosphorous, and 10% is Potassium. These ingredients are key inputs for almost all plants (different types of plants require various amounts of each). Buying a 10-10-10 fertilizer is perfectly fine and, if you do so you can easily calculate how much of that specific fertilizer you need to reach .09 lbs of N for your 100 square feet by simply dividing .09 by .1 (the answer: .9 lbs). If you your garlic plot is 5×10 (50 sqf) then you need only about .5 lbs. Easy, right?! Apply the appropriate amount sometime in March, and again about a month later.
Mulch – If you did not apply mulch over your planted garlic in the fall, then you can do that now. You can use shredded (drive over with a lawnmower) or decomposed leaves, or straw (by the bale, at Allies, for about $13; one bale covers about 150-200 sqf). Don’t use hay, because it often contains seeds. Why mulch? Two primary reasons: 1) weed suppression, 2) moisture retention. If your garlic has already sprouted be sure leaf mulch only barely covers the shoots. If using straw, just apply when the shoots are 0-5 inches high. They will easily penetrate through the straw.
Water – In the northeast, we have had a wet spring, and no irrigation is needed at the moment. If we hit a dry spell, water about 1-2 times per week until about a week before harvest. Overwatering (or excessive rain in low spots) can cause rot, so careful with that.
Weeding – Hit the weeds when they are small!!
Alium Leaf Miner (ALM) – Grow garlic they said, nothing eats it. Well, noweven in the northeast we have to worry about ALM. If you notice lines of dots (eggs!) on your garlic leaves, break the leave a couple inches below that spot and burn or discard the folliage.
