We are into the garlic season for 2011. You get out of garlic what you put into it. Weeds hinder growth so they can be the biggest culprit. We dodged a bullet the other day when the hail missed the garlic. Last year our garlic was cut up pretty bad because of the ice bullets. At this point in the season there should be no more fertilizing and pull back, if you can, on the watering. Letting the garlic dry down so that it is stressed seems to help the growth/size of the bulb.

Now is a great time to plant a cover crop such as buckwheat or clover. Both of these crops will make great "green manure" for your soil. Once they bloom till them under.

Scapes on the Shantung Purple are emerging. Asiatics and Turbans will mature earlier than other varieties. At the end of May and we will stop fertilizing and pull back on the watering a bit.

The Garlic is looking good. We will have around 50 varieties this 2010 season plus new samplers. Among a few hardy bulbs will be Chesnok Red purple stripe hardneck garlic, Russian Red hardneck garlic, German White hardneck porcelain garlic, Shantung Purple a hot softneck, Music porcelain a hardneck and one of our favorites.

Our garlic is growing well. The tallest is around 20in. The smallest around 10in. We have had some warm spring days followed by cool downs. So far all is looking good. Got to keep up on the weeds and will lay down one more fertilizer before June.

Yes, the garlic is really starting to pop. It is always a relief to see it break through the soil. I have already started weeding. With temps into the 60s the ground is warming nicely. So far haven't had to water once this winter because we have had enough snow.

Even though winter can be a relaxed time when it comes to garlic we have to make sure that the garlic is receiving enough water.If they dry down too much we could have problems. We tend to get a lot of snow here in Colorado and if we could have a blanket of snow all winter long that would be wonderful. However, we have many dry days and when that happens the garlic needs to be watered. So make sure you check your garlic. If the soil isn't frozen dig down about 4-6 inches and simply squeeze the soil together. If it sticks together there is enough moisture and if doesn't then go ahead and water the cloves.