HOW LONG DOES GARLIC TAKE TO GROW?

I Planted a single clove of garlic, in my vegetable garden as an experiment. I have next to no experience with veggies or herbs. My question is however How long from the time it goes in the dirt to harvest? how do I know when it's time? Any special care instructions?

What is your location? Here in S.C. zone 8, the cloves go in the ground in September or October and the bulbs are harvested in early summer, probably June, when the top growth turning brown.

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Eclectic gardening style, drawing from 40 years of interest and experience. Mostly plant in raised beds and containers primarily using intensive gardening techniques.
Alex

I live in Texas, North of Dallas. but that brings another question to mind. I see a lot of people talking about zones on this forum. Zones corresponding to geographic placement I believe. How do I know my zone and what importance is it to me?

I think that the ten zone classification is based upon cold hardiness. So being in zone seven, you know that you can't grow tropicals that stay in the ground all year and that most tender perennials like lantana will not survive the winter. Those in zone eight have to pay attention to chilling hours for the production of some fruit. But someone in zone seven or lower would not have such an issue as the zone would generally get enough chilling hours to set fruit most any year. I always pay attention to the zone hardiness information given in mail order catalogs so as to buy a plant that is appropriate for the temperature range in my area. Some blueberries and some cherries for example will only perform well in zone seven and lower. I have to make sure that my selection does well in zone eight.

I don't know much about the sunset zone system, but think that it factors in much more than just temperature ranges. Therefore it gives much better guidance as to the specific plants that will likely do well in your area. There are supposedly some great resources which include sunset info for western U.S. gardeners.

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Eclectic gardening style, drawing from 40 years of interest and experience. Mostly plant in raised beds and containers primarily using intensive gardening techniques.
Alex

There are two zone systems that I know of.

The more widely known is the USDA Hardiness Zone system.

The less widely known, but much more specific and useful for guidance to gardeners, is the Sunset Climate Zone system.

Please search on The Helpful Gardener for these phrases; my dogs JUST started begging for dinner as I began to type this response...

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

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and Mount Visions Wilson, CGC, 7/13/03 - 11/2/12, a sweet, courageous, determined dog

The USDA zones describe how cold your area gets in winter and you need to know your zone to know what plants will work for you.
When you buy perennials, plants or seeds, they should be marked hardy in zones 5-9 or some such. In general, if you are outside the marked zones in either direction, the plant isn't likely to survive in your area.

The AHS (American Horticultural Society) also publishes heat zones, but these are a lot less well known and harder to find info on. In the meantime you listed yourself as 7b. Are you sure? I'm on the edge of zone 7 (a) here in Cincinnati. Dallas is zone 8. I would guess you are too, unless you are at high elevation (does TX have any high elevation?)

You need a mixture of 1/3 soil, 1/3 sand, 1/3 peat moss and some Murate of Potash. Plant the garlic sets early spring. You will have garlic in a few months. If you do not pick all your garlic then leave them in the ground all winter they will be fine. The plants will turn to seed probably late August. The plants will flower and make sets you can pick the sets and save them to plant next year.

I planted my garlic in November, so far is looking very good, though my experience is very limited to know how "good" is supposed to look. Also, don't know how the bulb formation is going and could be all tops for all I know. The raised beds are all compost, aged manure, and potting soil. The flat beds are perhaps 50% sand and the rest organic material.

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Eclectic gardening style, drawing from 40 years of interest and experience. Mostly plant in raised beds and containers primarily using intensive gardening techniques.
Alex

Garlic is usually planted in the fall. Here it can be planted form August through October. You harvest mid August. Plant the largest cloves you can find. The larger the clove the larger the bulb you will get.
Small cloves may not develop a multi-cloved bulb, but will just grow a single round clove. This can be planted again for a good bulb next year.

Your planting and harvesting times may be different than mine because of the climate differences.

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Gardening at 5000 feet elevation, zone 4/5 Northern Utah, Frost free from May 25 to September 18 +/- Plant a Garden

I am a pretty lazy gardener . I plant my garlic as I pull it, always leaving a clove or two as I work my way through the garden. The garlic is along and in a flower bed. I grow elephant garlic that is a "natural" for my climate and well established in the yard when we moved to our home.

Garlic is making nice bulbs now! Plants still are very green, so there should be some very nice bulbs for harvest in a month or so. These in the photos are about three inches in diameter.

'Xian'


'Early Red'


'Tuscan'


'Tuscan' with top growth.

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Eclectic gardening style, drawing from 40 years of interest and experience. Mostly plant in raised beds and containers primarily using intensive gardening techniques.
Alex