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Growing Garlic – Growing June 2013 part1
June 16, 2013
Standing in the Garlic patch after a hard days work cutting and eating your first partial harvest!
These plants don’t get very big, but their stalks can get thick…. makes you feel like a giant.
… hopefully in about 3 – 4 weeks we will get some nice big bulbs!
June 16, 2013 – Standing in the garlic patch makes you feel like you are a giant. The rows seems a little narrow at 18″, about 30″ is the norm but you can get away with 24″ and walk freely between the plant rows.
Look at all these delicious scapes we cut today!
I tried to eat one but it was just too potent.
These will great additions to any salad or stir fry.
They are just as healthy as the garlic bulb itself and will add a beautiful taste to any dish.
June 16, 2013 – Cut scapes, about 80 or so here. Enough for a few meals and some to give away to friends & family. First round of cutting, there are about 50 remaining from 5 varieties – some slower to produce than others.
Today, we cut the scapes off the stalk before it started to curl too much.
Usually cut before the first curl to help the bulb swell.
Adding calcium after this will also help the bulb swell.
We were shocked to see the amount of juice oozing out after the cut!
June 16, 2013 – Cutting the Scapes with a knife. If you look closely you can see the juices oozing out! This is some healthy stuff and potent too!
June 14, 2013 – Look at these great looking Scapes starting to form!
The Scape produces the flower on the garlic stalk which is called a Bulbil.
The Bulbil opens and has seed pods.
Each seed takes years to produce, so its best to start with a clove from a bulb as we did.
June 14, 2013 – Beautiful thick Scapes forming
We pulled a garlic stalk out to see what it looks like.
At this point if you eat this it will be sweet and soft.
You’ll notice the bulbs are just about to start swelling
This little bulb is called a Garlic Scallion, it is young and tender.
June 14, 2013 – Pulled a garlic bulb out to see what it looks like.
June 7, 2013 – At this point we’ve been focusing on calcium & nitrogen.
Things have really improved with all the rain.
… will look into alternate plant food ie: N-P-K.
June 7, 2013 – more calcium and nitrogen.
So, here we go it’s June 1, 2013!
You can see there are Rhubarb leaves on the paths between the garlic.
We only had enough a few rows. This is done for weed control.
BTW, the rhubarb stalks were nice a big this year 
)
June 1, 2013 – Just gave them some Calcium plus it rained a lot
Growing Garlic – Growing May 2013
It seems things have really taken quite well )
If things go well we may end up getting some nice stinky garlic!!
May 5th – We added more cow manure today right at the base of all the garlic stems (scapes), creating 10 rows/mounds of manure. It was then sprayed with organic fertilizer containing Nitrogen, Calcium, Kelp and vitamin B1. This stuff better be good!
Don’t over water the garlic. In the early months its ok here and there but toward the end in June/July try to keep it on the dry side.
May 9th – Added Urea 46-0-0 pellets to the base of the plants before it rained. After this picture was taken the pellets were combined into the manure mounds.
Farmers usually add the Urea because it is high in Nitrogen. you can buy Urea at a plant nursery.
It should be added once every 1.5 weeks starting from when the stalk begins to show and develop.
Calcium Nitrate should also be added to help build stem walls and plant cell, but I haven’t done that yet…. will get on it.
So, starting in April and then into May, Nitrogen and Calcium are key.
May 13th – Garlic plants got a bit bigger. The Nitrogen helped but I have a feeling it is deficient in Calcium because the leaves are looking a little pale and not as green (I know they already have Nitrogen).
So, off I go to look for some Calcium Nitrate. I think a liquid would be best… or something that can be easily diluted for quick soil and root absorption.
No problems with squirrels, racoons, dogs or cats… nothing seems to want to touch it (knock on wood).
Can’t wait to roast this garlic, yummmmmi!
May 17, 2013 – Added some more manure
Starting to realized that the manure was starting to breakdown we decided to put 3 more bags of cow manure.
It seems every 2-3 weeks…… more manure!
Also, found some Calcium Nitrate at a local plant nursery for $4.00.
Mix it with water 1TSP/ plant. But we diluted it to water and sprayed it on the garlic. The next day it wilted….. CANi leads to precipitation damage, so be sure to spray regular water the plants after to dilute.
May 21, 2013 – Threw on a few handfuls of UREA 46-0-0, once every 7 days
It was going to rain the next day fairly heavily… so we threw some more UREA into the garden for Nitrogen then worked it into the manure so it was not seen….. the picture above is before it is worked in.
Use about 1/2 to 1 TSP scattered around the bulb per plant.
May 27, 2013 – Added more UREA and manure
It was going to rain again fairly heavy, so now was the time to put down some more UREA and cow manure.
The plants are looking much healthier, the added rain, manure, UREA and Calcium is being noticed….
May 27, 2013 – Here is The Garlic Chop sitting at the base of some garlic stalks
It was tough to see how well the garlic was doing so we put The Garlic Chop in the picture to give you an idea of how thick the garlic stalks were getting.
Make sure you de-weed your garden so that the weeds don’t compete for food with the garlic. We haven’t done this yet, next up.
May 30, 2013 – This garlic is really looking healthy
The garlic is looking healthier each and every day. About 1.5 months to do… I hope it turns out.
It rained so much the other day, maybe 25mm. Good thing we put down some manure & UREA.
But, I see they are a little Calcium deficient. So when the soil gets a little drier, I’ll spray them with the Calicum and then regular water to dilute anything on the leave.
Make sure you feed your plants at the end of the day OR early morning.
Growing Garlic – Growing April2013
So, here it is a few weeks after sprouting.
Nice. At this point we remembered a farmer tellling us to give it Nitrogen as soon as it come out of the surface.
From here in, we added some organic liquid fertilizer but I don’t think it was enough although it did continue to grow well.
This Garlic is 2 to 3 weeks old. April 14th 2013.
And then every week we started to give it more fertilizer high in Nitrogen. You’ll notice after it rains a lot of vegetation gets really green and grows big. That’s because rain water is not only negative ions, it also contains large amounts of Nitrogen and many other elements. Rain water is also considered mild H2O2 aka, Hydrogen Peroxide… in other words it has plenty of oxygen in it and is healthy for days after. We’ll see if we can later set up the rain barrels and collect some rain from the roof.
April 26th – Looking pretty good at week 4. Music variety. It almost grew over night after it rained really hard.
April 28, 2013 – This was a good picture, nice height.
April 30th – it’s getting bigger. I don’t know what’s going on under the ground but things are looking good so far.
For April the garlic seems to have grown about 8″ in height.
The most predominant strain of all was in fact the music variety.
The other varieties seem a little slower to take.
Growing Garlic – Spring Sprouting March 25, 2013
Spring came early for Garlic this year.
Likely because we are more south and closer to the lake.
I spoke with some garlic farmers and theirs have not come up just yet.
Planted November 9, 2013, Sprouted March 25, 2013. Variety is Music.
Growing Garlic – Planting Nov 9, 2012
So, we decided to write a blog on how to grow garlic.
This is where we start… planting season November 2012.
After selling our garlic products at 100s of agriculture fairs through out the years and speaking with dozens of farmers we decided to try to grow our own large garlic bulbs, YUMMI!!!
In this small 10′ x 20′ garden bed we are going to plant 130 cloves November 9, 2012 aiming for it to be ready early to mid July 2013. Southern Ontario, Canada region.
November 9, 2013
We used dolomite lime to help stabilize the soil and balance out the PH around 6.5 to 7.0
Garlic loves nitrogen, so add a nice amount and then add more during growth.
One farmer told us that cow manure is best to use because cows have several stomachs and this really helps to brake it down.
In this mix we use Bat Guano Vegetative & Flowering althought the Veg. is likely more important because of the high (N)itrigen content. We also use cow manure and dolomite lime to balance the soil.
Next you have to get your garlic cloves ready for planting. This years planting will have four varieties: Bogatyr (Spicy), German Red, Russian Red and the most common variety Music. Music is usually apparently the easiest to grow and it grows well in Ontario. It is hardneck variety, the flavor is sweet and pungent & hot when eaten raw. It can be the size of half your hand, big and tasty.
The old saying goes “the bigger the garlic cloves, the bigger your garlic bulb will be”. Make sure you find healthy, fat bulbs.
Break each bulb into individual cloves, don’t worry if all the paper skin is removed but do try NOT to damage it and try to keep it on if you can… it is good protection.
Break up the garlic bulb by pulling apart the cloves. Be careful not to damage the paper skin too much, if you do you can still plant it.
Separate the cloves so that you have enough to plant. Depending on the variety of garlic, a bulb will produce anywhere up to 11 cloves. This means you can have 11 bulbs. Here is a picture of all the garlic cloves we are going to plant….
Garlic has hundreds of varieties. Here are the ones we are trying out: Bogatyr (Spicy), German Red, Russian Red and the most common variety Music.
You have till your soil and add all your nutrients at this point, blend it in so the soil is fluffy. You may need to add some straw, coco fibre, perilite or vermiculite to fluff it up even more.
Till your soil. Now is the best time to add all your manures, dolomite lime, high nitrogen stuff like guanos or worm castings. Till it about 8″ – 10″ deep. Alternatively, you can also dig trenches and only fertilizer the rows.
Worms are good for the soil. They eat the micro-nutrients and soil stuff leaving behind natures most excellent fertilizer: natural organic worm poop! The more worms you find in your soil, the healthier it is and the more you work your soil, the healthier it gets.
In addition to tilling and preparing the soil, we also dug trench 6″ deep, 10 rows.
First we put the guanos at the bottom for the nitrogen/phosphorous and put a layer of cow manure on top of that about 3″ thick.
Garlic roots don’t grow deep so I’m told this will likely do it.
Dig a row, add some guanos and dolomite lime. About 6″ deep and then back fill with 3″ cow manure.
After you put the manure down, set the cloves into the manure loosely about 6″ apart. The clove should be about 2 inches below the surface. Then cover it and create a mound about 4″ above the surface. After the winter the mound will go down to about 1″ to 2″ above surface which is great for the garlic.
Add 3″ of cow manure and even worm casting to this mix and sit the clove of garlic about one to two inches down, pointy side up. This is their home for the winter, until Around mid April when they will sprout.
Mix up the left over soil with some more cow manure and worm castings if you have them. Build mounds about 4″ above the garlic clove (soil surface). Over the winter it will go down to about 2″ above the clove which is perfect.
Make sure you plant your garlic before the ground freezes.
Alternatively, you can also plant your garlic in the spring just after the ground softens… you will still get a crop but not as good.
That’s it! You can put some mulch over it if you have it or even some straw to protect over the winter…. we just left it.
Has your garlic come up yet?
Spring is here and the garlic has sprouted!
Random Garlic Facts
If you live in the US the majority of the garlic sold in grocery stores comes from China. But did you know there is a 377% tariff on all fresh garlic being imported from China?
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Random Garlic Facts
USA is the largest importer of garlic in the world. The 2009 totals for garlic
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FACT – Garlic is Alkaline not Acidic. This is good news for us because it raises our body’s PH level thereby helping to thwart off bacteria, diseases and cancer. However, if you expose it to your skin for long periods of time it will actually burn you, your skin will peel.
FACT – We used the same three Garlic Chops to shred 1200 bulbs of garlic at The National Home Show, that’s over 150lbs of garlic in 10 days! AND, we’ve been using the same three Garlic Chops from tradeshow to tradeshow for the past year chopping up close to 10,000 bulbs of garlic! Try doing that with you garlic press!!
What is garlic?
First off, garlic is a vegetable. Its origins are believed to be central Asia. In Latin, Allium Sativum belongs to the onion family, thus its strong pungent taste and smell. You may also be familiar with some of garlic’s cousins: leeks, onions, chives and shallots… all potent and very healthy! Garlic health benefits include: lowering blood pressure (blood thinner) and cholesterol levels.
GARLIC HEALTH BENEFITS #33
Garlic health benefits vary. It is generally known for preventing high cholesterol, blood pressure and cancer. It can even help regulate your blood/sugar levels. It is known for its anti-viral, bacterial and fungal properties. Make no mistake, it will burn peel your finger skin off if you chop 100’s of garlic bulbs a week! Alkaline foods, like garlic, prevent cancers and diseases from thriving.
Garlic Health Benefits #21
Garlic is commonly eaten cooked, fried, baked, roasted, glazed and even raw.
At one of the tradeshows we were demonstrating how The Garlic ChopTM worked. And, along comes this cute little 9 year old girl (with her parents) and starts eating raw peeled garlic cloves. She was even polite enough to ask! “Can I eat some of your garlic?” and her mom says “she does this all the time”. I cringed when I saw her eat it raw. I was so impressed, I figured if she can do this, so can I…. so, later that night I proceeded in eating a big clove of garlic.
Come see us at the 2010 International Housewares Show
2010 International Home + Housewares Show Location, Dates & Times
Booth#6126
McCormick Place
2301 S. Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, Illinois 60616
Sunday, March 14
8:30am – 5:30pm* Monday, March 15
8:30am – 5:30pm* Tuesday, March 16
8:30am – 5:00pm
We’ll be show casing our garlic chop, garlic peel, and garlic keep products.
See you there!!
Come and See us at the National Home Show
Koopeh Designs will be at the National Home Show. Booth 4374
We’ll be offering some amazing deals on Garlic bundles. Discounted prices for the Garlic Chop, Garlic Peel, and Garlic Keeper.
Garlic Tip #22
Let’s talk about health and why garlic is so good for you.
It’s because it is packed with such nutrients as:
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Garlic Tip #6
Storing Garlic is important. Freshness is bestness. But it can all depending on the type of garlic you buy.
If you buy garlic grown in China it will not last as long locally or domestically grown garlic. Here’s why……..
Read more »
Garlic Tip# 98
The Garlic Press and why the Garlic Chop is better…………….
#1 When you use a press the garlic is the same size every time it passes through the tiny holes. But when we cook with garlic we need it to be different sizes for different cooking applications. i.e. When frying garlic we want the chunks to be a little bigger so they don’t burn in a frying pan. (two-three turns of the chopper).
If you want to make a salad dressing or something like that you want the garlic to be very fine. Simply keep turning the chopper until you get the consistency you need.
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Garlic Tip #34
Storing Garlic: Garlic likes to be stored in a cool dark place. Ideally you want to use a clay or ceramic garlic keeper. Sometimes the cloves may sprout. If this happens don’t throw the garlic away. It simply means that the garlic will be less flavorful. The sprouts themselves contain strong flavor crystals and can be cut up and used in salads or stir frys.
Happy New Year!!
Happy New Year to all from the gang here at Koopeh Designs.
Keep on Chopping!!
Stratford Garlic Festival
I just want to give a big shout out to the folks at the Stratford Garlic Festival. It was a great show and the turnout was fantastic.
See us on the front cover Fall CGTA Magazine
Front cover of the Fall CGTA Magazine
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Come and See us at the Stratford Garlic Festival this Saturday Sept 12th 2009
Come and see us at the third annual Stratford Garlic Festival this Saturday September 12th at the Old Stratford Fairgrounds.
9am to 4pm 20 Glastonbury Drive (off Churchill Circle)
www.stratfordgarlicfestival.com
ONLY 5 DAYS LEFT…Don’t miss out on seeing us at the Canadian Exhibition
The Canadian Exhibition in Toronto ends this coming Monday Sept 7th. Don’t miss out on some amazing deals!!
Booth 2842, Hall A in the Direct Energy Building
Come See Us at the Toronto Exhibition
Aug 21st to Sept 7th at the Toronto Ex. At the Toronto Exhibition grounds. Direct Energy Center Booth 2842 (Back wall beside Pro Garage and the Ice Cream Store)
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We are now on Twitter, Jaiku, Squidoo and Tumblr
You can follow us on:
Twitter
Koopeh Designs adds two new products to its lineup – The Garlic Keep and The Garlic Peeler
• New garlic peeler makes its debut into Koopeh Designs lineup
• New garlic storage device makes its debut
• Koopeh Designs now has three new devices that store, mince, and peel garlic
TORONTO, ON., March 18 — Koopeh Designs today announced the debut of The Garlic Peel, a garlic peeler, and The Garlic Keep, a device that keeps garlic fresh, at the 2009 International Home and Housewares Show on March 22nd to 24th in Chicago. Both these products will complement the award-winning garlic mincer, The Garlic Chop.
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Come see us at the National Home Show
Koopeh Designs will be exhibiting The Garlic Chop at the upcoming National Home Show at the Direct Energy Ctr in Toronto Canada. Feb 20 2009 – Mar 01 2009.
We’ll be located at booth#2407
Canada AM : AM Kitchen : Chef Michael P. Clive with kitchen gadget gift ideas
From environmentally friendly pans to a garlic-shaped garlic press, a chef demonstrates a number of kitchen gadgets gift ideas.
This was the heading from CTV’s Canada AM TV showwhere Chef Michael P. Clive demonstrated The Garlic Chop. Highlighting it at as one of this years “great gift ideas”……
The Garlic Chop Heads to the Home Show!
Thinking Of Growing Your Own Garlic?
If you are planning on growing your own garlic this year, you should start thinking about planting it soon because the Fall is the best time to plant garlic! Here are some quick tips on growing your own garlic from the folks at Garlic Chop HQ.
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Tim Hortons Introduces Garlic Toast!
Many of you garlic lovers out there will have seen that Tim Hortons, the Canadian coffee and doughnuts chain, is now offering garlic toast along with their homestyle chili – it’s what chili lovers want! But what if you’re a chili lover AND a garlic lover AND you want to enjoy some garlic toast with your chili at home?
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