Order certified seed garlic now; plant in October.
San Diego Master Gardeners print October–November for both coast and inland.
Pointed end up; about 1/2 inch cover on the coast. No separate inland depth is printed.
Kit
- Certified disease-free garlic bulbs from a nursery or seed catalog
- Largest cloves with papery skins left on
- Compost; composted manure 4-6 weeks ahead if you use manure
- Starter fertilizer only if you follow the rates on the SD garlic page
- Garden fork
- Wire screen, shed, or string for hanging while curing
- Drip irrigation
- Softneck variety (California Early, California Late, or Silverskin)
Do this
-
Buy certified disease-free bulbs. Do not plant supermarket garlic.
Buy garlic sold for planting, certified disease-free, from a nursery or seed catalog. Break bulbs into cloves just before planting, leave the papery covering on, and plant the largest cloves; the SD garlic page warns that supermarket garlic can bring mites or white rot.
SD MG.
-
Plant softneck as the California type. Elephant garlic is a leek.
Softneck is the main type grown commercially in California (SD MG; Jodi Bay). Heads have 6–18 cloves in layers around a soft stem and store well; elephant garlic is a leek.
SD MG.
-
Prep a full-sun, well-drained bed 8–12 inches deep
SD garlic page: well-drained soil, full sun all day, dig 8–12 inches, and mix compost. If using animal manure, mix 4–6 weeks before planting.
SD MG.
-
Coastal mild winters: about 1/2 inch of soil over the clove
Pointed end up. Space cloves 4–6 inches apart in rows a foot or more apart. SD garlic page: in coastal areas with mild winters, cover cloves with about 1/2 inch of soil; that page does not print a separate inland-San-Diego depth.
Illustration: clove pointed up, about 1/2 inch cover for coastal mild winters. Not a photograph. Do not invent inland depth. SD MG.
-
Keep the top 6 inches moist. Stop nitrogen, then water, as bulbs mature.
After the first deep watering, keep soil moist but not saturated. Stop nitrogen in the last two months before harvest, and stop irrigation as bulbs near maturity or when tops begin to break or dry (UC IPM).
SD MG.
-
Harvest when the tops say so
When most tops have fallen over, feel the stem under the soil; if it is still firm, wait. When stems feel soft, lift with a garden fork — do not yank.
SD MG.
-
Cure with airflow until wrappers are crinkly. Do not refrigerate.
Cure out of direct sun and rain, with good air circulation, until wrappers are crinkly. Do not put bulbs in the refrigerator; SD MG prints 60–70°F storage.
SD MG.
Want garlic planted on the San Diego October window? Gardens of Gold plants vegetable beds in San Diego County. Get a quote.