Soil to Grow Garlic

9 years ago

I have had good success with growing garlic. But some things are still challenging. My soil is old farm land, clay based farm soil. I amended the soil with 2" to 3" of compost over the past two years. But the soil is still poor. Each year, I dug the soil one spade deep (about 8" to 10" deep). The soil underneath is hard and does not train well. But my soil bed is on a slope, so not standing water.

Last season, the garlic plants were doing great by spring. I did not water it in spring since we always get plenty rain over spring. But by early June, some plants were under stress. I water once or twice a week. Then the plants continue to decline. Some rot and I had to pull them.

I was puzzled as to if I watered too little or two much. Our soil is dry over summer. So I think the plants were not getting enough water. But would the plants still rot with little water? Maybe that is the cause, too little water?

I don't think I get garlic mold problem. The soil bed is new, never grown with garlic. The garlic seedstock comes from my own garlic seeds grown from bulbils. So both soil and seed garlic are clean.

The other way is to build a raised bed with 1/2 compost and 1/2 soil....

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Comments (3)

Peter (6b SE NY)
9 years ago
Sounds like maybe you should build a raised bed, with sand added also, and use fresh planting stock.
OldDutch (Zone 4 MN)
9 years ago
I would guess you also have a hardpan, possibly just under the spade depth. The hard way to fix that is to double dig - IOW spade out the first pass and then dig down even deeper in the resultant trench on the second one. Work in organic matter the whole depth as you refill. That is lots of work.

If you can find some one with a "subsoiler" who will run over your garden area for you that is another option, but that generally requires a fee of some sort. Sometimes a fall crop of daikon radishes (also known as "earth drills" ) can open up heavy soils, too, and get organic matter down deep, since some types have tap roots that can reach down 3 or 4 feet to their tips. They are commonly used in feed patches for deer, and are really not too expensive. The better garden types are also delicious a number of ways, from raw to soup.
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RedSun (Zone 6, NJ)
Original Author
9 years ago
I started digging the old garlic bed. Double digging, mixed with compost the 2nd time. The soil is not solid hardpan, but it is somehow hard. The good thing is that, the soil is moist, or I have to use a pick fork. So far, I dug a 10' by 10' area. I'll keep digging and plant some garlic as long as the ground is not frozen. I don't have a lot to plant. But just want to work on this garden area.