quick questions re: mulching garlic

Go I mulch fall-planted garlic immediately after planting or after shoots pop up;  last year they popped up in November.

Susan,

I would mulch as soon as I could get mulch in without burying the garlic itself.

Maybe you could add in a thin layer now and add more as the garlic grows.

Eric

i mulch my garlic beds heavily with leaves right when i plant them. they never have a problem finding their way to the light.

greg mosser wrote:i mulch my garlic beds heavily with leaves right when i plant them. they never have a problem finding their way to the light.

AGREED!

Thanks all!  I was finding all sorts of mixed messages on various internet sites

I just watched a video where some people were growing elephant garlic. They had a pile of straw at the end of the garden bed that had slumped over onto the garlic row after they planted. They had garlic growing through a foot of straw.

I've only grown garlic for two years, but I've been laying down two inches of wood chips over the soil after my fall-planting and have been very happy with the results. I don't see any green before spring rolls around, but then they burst forth.

Jan White wrote:I just watched a video where some people were growing elephant garlic. They had a pile of straw at the end of the garden bed that had slumped over onto the garlic row after they planted. They had garlic growing through a foot of straw.

Straw is what I have on hand, so straw it is!

The quick answer is "yes" as the previous posts have noted. If you want an outstanding longer answer that describes the best types of mulch, why mulch is important for garlic, mulches that cause problems for garlic, how mulches moderate moisture and temperature, all in 6 readable and insightful pages, the book Growing Great Garlic: The Definitive Guide for Organic Gardeners and Small Farmers, by Ron L. Engeland is a gem. All the other chapters are equally helpful and accessible. The author includes his noteworthy farm journal entries for each season so you know how to care for your crop beyond fall planting.

Amy Gardener wrote:The quick answer is "yes" as the previous posts have noted. If you want an outstanding longer answer that describes the best types of mulch, why mulch is important for garlic, mulches that cause problems for garlic, how mulches moderate moisture and temperature, all in 6 readable and insightful pages, the book Growing Great Garlic: The Definitive Guide for Organic Gardeners and Small Farmers, by Ron L. Engeland is a gem. All the other chapters are equally helpful and accessible. The author includes his noteworthy farm journal entries for each season so you know how to care for your crop beyond fall planting.

Thank you! Just bought it.

You want to carful with straw.  A lot of straw have some very nasty chemicals on them.  I would love to use straw for mulch, but I can't find organic straw in my area.  I'm just to afraid to chance it.

Christopher Weeks wrote:I've only grown garlic for two years, but I've been laying down two inches of wood chips over the soil after my fall-planting and have been very happy with the results. I don't see any green before spring rolls around, but then they burst forth.

Like Chris, I mulch with a thick layer of woodchips immediately after planting and the garlic emerges without any issues.

I do top up the mulch with chicken manure over the woodchips. Sometimes I use sheep pellets, other times, well rotted horse manure. Comfrey if you prefer non animal fertiliser.

Yeah, with straw, you might want to look up and do a bean germination test to make sure it isn't contaminated with aminopyralid herbicides that make everything except grass family plants do poorly.