As the weather starts turning cooler it’s a perfect time to plant some bulbs in your garden for next year’s harvest. Most of the time I think of fall planting as the time to plant tulip bulbs. However, last fall I planted garlic bulbs and was so excited at how easy it was and what a wonderful harvest it produced this summer.

Late September through October is the perfect time to plant garlic for next year’s harvest. You can see exactly what we did on my daughter, Emily Rose’s, blog post from last fall here.

After we covered the bulbs with dirt and compost we waited for a few weeks for the shoots to spring up. Then as it was getting colder we covered up the plants with several inches of straw to protect it over winter. When spring arrived we uncovered the shoots and they began growing again. Late June to early July the tops of the plants will start to brown and then you can harvest your garlic.

After digging up the garlic, we brushed off the excess dirt and then tied them up into little bundles and slid them over a string that we had put up in our garage. You will want to hang them somewhere dry and airy. After a couple of weeks they were dry and ready for storage. You could then braid them together for a classic look if you’d like. Use the biggest and best bulbs to replant for the next harvest.

Have you planted garlic before? If you have any tips or suggestions about growing garlic, please leave a comment and share your knowledge!