Garlic plants in St. Louis, When and How to Grow


 Only September but warming up for fall plantings.....


Its fall in St. Louis, Missouri and time to get those cloves into the dirt!!!! Garlic is so easy to grow that every one that uses it should take a stab at growing your own. It needs to be planted in the fall, November is a great time to plant garlic, so it gets the winter dormancy season to produce big bulbs next July.



I started by getting bulbs from my local grocery store that looked to be alive. They had green shoots sticking up out of the bulb. Most bulbs obtained from a local grocery will be alive and grow.

Begin by separating the bulbs into cloves. I do this while I am planting so it is easy to tell the top from the bottom. I plant them with the root side down but I think they would grow either way. I place them about 2" deep and 6" apart in each direction. This spacing allows for good growth and easy removal next July. There isn't a need to water right now. Cover and plant some more. I usually put in about two dozen cloves which will usually come from two good size bulbs.I like to save some of the biggest bulbs for my next fall planting.

It is always helpful to amend the soil with good compost such as can be had at the University City Heman park location. I do not fertilize in the spring or summer. I always have enough to use and enjoy giving away to family and friends.

Garlic is a good pest repellent so you may want to save all of next years produce and spread it throughout your beds.

The tops will start to turn brown in July and its time to dig and enjoy !!!!

Garlic was used as an antibiotic in WWII and before drugs were discovered. Its natural powers have been used to cure many ailments. I have used it to stop tooth aches myself. My Russian neighbor tells me that he dices it up, rolls it in a napkin, and uses it as an ear infection cure. Its a shame that more time hasn't been spent learning the true value of this plant for medical purposes.

3 comments:

  1. Comments are allowed. It would be nice to know who visited the site :)

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  2. will try this, may have a shorter growing season down here, but it is a good staple to keep :)

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  3. As long as you get it into the ground this fall it should be fine. It has to have the winter dormancy period to form bulbs.

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