Garlic is a popular bellying harvest that adds delightful relish to many savory dishes But what does a garlic plant actually look like as it progresses from constitute to reap ? Here is an overview of the key visual growth stage of a distinctive garlic plant
Planting Stage
Garlic is grown from individual cloves broken off from a whole bulb . Each Eugenia caryophyllatum has a pointed top and flattened stem . The cloves are planted root - terminal down , 2 - 4 inch deep and 4 - 8 inches apart in disposed garden beds . Spacing varies on the garlic variety . The soil is patted firmly over the plant clove . At this early level , the planting site simply looks like a garden bed with garlic cloves spaced out in rows or blocks .
Sprouting Stage
Within 1 - 2 weeks after planting , garlic Eugenia aromaticum will begin beam up a dark-green sprout . ab initio the sprout is a single smoke - similar blade . It emerges from the tip of the buried garlic clove and grows upward toward the soil surface . Once the sprout penetrates through the soil surface , novel blade - like leaves will continue developing from its foundation in a clumping fashion . The sprout betoken the clove are rooting and becoming established industrial plant .
Leaf Growth Stage
As the conditions warms in spring , the young garlic plant put on vegetative growth . The grassy leaves multiply and lengthen into lissome unripened foliage about 1/2 column inch extensive . The leaves fan out jolly but broadly stay upright . By early summertime the foliage reaches a height of 12 - 24 inches look on the variety . The leaves may take on a blue hue . The plants bit by bit form a loose clump of leaf arising from the develop underground bulb .
Bulbing Stage
While the leaves are mature above priming , the garlic plant is also elaborate its bulb below basis . The bulb begins forming as a cluster of clove segments that grow gravid week by week . For hardneck garlic varieties , a bare bloom stalk called a scape emerges from the centerfield in early summer . The curling flower stalk can be cut off to redirect energy to bulb growth . Bulbs typically hand ripe size by mid - summer when lower foliage start yellow and drying .
Harvest Stage
Garlic is quick for harvesting when about one-half of the leafage have turned brown by mid - summer . Plants are dig up using a garden crotch , observe the medulla oblongata entire . Mature garlic incandescent lamp feature multiple layers of papery pelt surrounding a segmented promontory of cloves . Hardneck varieties have a stiff central stem while softneck garlic has supple stems that leave braid . After digging , bulbs are cured by let them to dry out of soil for 2 - 3 week in a warm , airy location out of lineal sun .
Plant Structure Close-Ups
garlic clove are oblong , off - white segments incase in a thin , light browned peel . They have a firm , unruffled texture .
Leaves are svelte , grassy , and fleeceable with an upright orientation course . Some form develop a blueish tint .
Hardneck scapes are thin , self-colored , curly flower stalking extend from the electric-light bulb center .
Bulbs are attack head composed of multiple cloves surrounded by papery white , tan , or purple - striped outer skins .
Typical Garlic Growth Timeline
Fall : Plant cloves
Spring : Foliage sprout and grow
Early Summer : Bulbs enlarge and scapes look
Mid - Summer : Leaves start drying down
Late Summer : upper side descend over , bulbs are dug up
descend : Bulbs cured for storage
Watch This Before You Plant Garlic
FAQ
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