planting garlic

i went up the the local yearly garlic festival and decided to try and plant garlic for next season. a guy at the fair said to take a large container, fill it with dirt ( i used potting soil used for containers)
make holes in dirt as long as my finger then plant garlic cloves, pointy tip up. i then covered it with some mulch. dug a small hole, put some muldh at bottom then the container and filled all around the container with more mulch.

if i did everything right can you tell me what happens next and when
thanks
.

Herbie just sit back the bulb will grow a bit before it gets to cold and then will emerge next spring. I am wondering what growing it in the container is supposed to do. I grow mine as I am syre the masses do in the groun. I wonder if we are missing something. Ernie

eweed - i asked the guy at the festival if i could grow the garlic in containers and he said why not.

Maybe he thought you just had limited growing space and suggested the pots?

I grow garlic in the ground yearly....maybe this would be a good experiment for you, Herbie. Grow in ground as welll as in pots..see what works best for you.)

I have a perenial herb garden and winter is around the corner. Do I plant Garlic Cloves now here in Massachusetts much like you would plant Spring Bulbs? Never did Garlic before but would like to try.

wish i could help you but this is my first time trying it, although i'm not to far from you.

horseshoe - i only bouth 1 head of the garlic and i planted it all in the one container just to see what would happen. if it works out ok i will plant nexct time in ground.

Herbie...If you like, you can catch garlic at good prices at your local grocery store. Buy the full bulbs, at "bulk" prices (not the little boxes with two bulbs in them). Pick the bulbs with the biggest cloves. (Stick them in your flower beds if you lack a lot of garden space! They'll do great!)

So fun to grow your own garlic!

horeshoe - i was under the impression that the garlic purchased in stores could not be planted that they had something in them that prevented them from growing. is this right?

Nope...that is not correct. You may be thinking of store-bought potatoes that often are treated with an "anti-growth" chemical so they don't sprout quickly.

I've gotten many of my garlic stock from the grocery store for years. I'm sure many of us have seen our store-bought garlic send up shoots in our kitchen if we don't use it up in time.

Most grocery store garlic is considered "California White", a variety I really like! I highly recommend it both for its growth habit and also for cooking/eating. Yummy! (It's wonderful for frying also, in olive oil, then drained and reserved for that special flavor it offters to soups and stirfry dishes. And, should you do this, be sure to save the oil you fry it in...what a great flavored oil!) (This last garlic cooking tip was given to me several yrs ago by DG's MaVie Rose...since then something I've done yearly! So delish!)

Anywhooo....I'd jump on it Herbie...You'll love home-grown garlic!

horseshoe - you won't believe this, but i just received ten pounds of raw olives which i ordered from california. i am going to brine them using my uncles recipe which taste great. i had to buy about 20 heads of garlic so i will take some and plant them.

wow! ten pounds!!!??? That's a lot of olives!

Can you post your recipe somewhere? Either here or Recipe Forum?

As for the garlic, plant the biggest cloves (usually the outer ones) for the biggest bulbs next year. Use the smaller ones for cooking or frying.

Lucky you!

horseshoe - here is the recipe for the olives

wash olives throughly

place on a hard surface and crack each olive. (i put them in a plastic bag and hit them with a hammer)

put them in a large pot or two and cover them with water. cover with top and place on a counter (do not refrigerate) for 24 hours.

you have to keep changing the water for 5 or 6 days to get rid of the bitterness.
after 6 days take an olive out and taste it. if you are not happy with the way it taste, just refill pot with water and wait another 24 hours. if you like the way it taste then go to next step.

have lots of salt at the ready
take a large egg out the fridge and wash it. fill a large pot with cold water and mix in a couple of cups of salt. stir to dissolve the salt. gently place the egg in the water. if the egg floats to the top you have enough salt. if not, remove the egg, add more salte and stir again. put the egg back in. keep doing this until the egg floats.

final step--remove olives with a slotted spoon and place them in glass jars . (i use the quart size) fill the jars about 3/4 full with olives. take the salted water and add to jars up to 1/2 inch from top. to each jar add 5 or 6 cloves of garlic and some oregano (my uncle never measures, but i put about a tablespoon)
place a piece of wax paper on the top of the jar and then screw on the cap. let stand on counter. after one week taste an olive. if you like the way it taste then you can enjoy them. if not, let them stand for another day. what you are looking for is the saltyness to pass through into the olives.

horseshoe - don't know if you like olives but these are really good. i paid only 14 dollars for a ten pound case plus the shipping naturally.

p.s. maybe i should have put this on the regular recipe forum rather than on the garlic forum. don't know how to switch it over. if you do, please do it if you think others might be interested.

one more thing, whats the best way to store garlic heads??

thanks again.

I just store mine in a cool room (only keep a few at a time in the kitchen cus of the heat in there).

Thanks for the olive recipe...now I just gotta find some olives around here someplace.

(When I come back from an appt later I'll post your recipe in the other forum. Or if you like, you can Copy and Paste it there so it'll appear under your name as the poster.)

horseshoe - please post it as i don't know how to do it. thanks again

okay dokey! 'Tis done!

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/464027/

Thanks for the recipe!

Gardening 101 plant the garlic now... they dont like the heat of summer and need the early start.