As you reap the fall bounty from your vegetable garden, don’t forget that next year’s garlic crop should be planted before October 15 for a July 2017 harvest.

Garlic is one of the easiest vegetables to grow and has a multitude of health benefits. It requires little space and can be planted in the fall after many other crops have been harvested. Garlic needs nine months to mature and requires a period of cold followed by a period of light and heat to reach harvestable size.

Although there are many types of garlic, they can be classified into two broad categories: hardneck, which is in the subspecies ophioscorodon and softneck, which is in the subspecies sativum. Each has its own characteristics and advantages. Hardneck garlic is favored by gourmet chefs. It has larger, easier to peel and more flavorful cloves of uniform size and does well in colder climates like ours.  Hardneck garlic may be purple, purple striped or white and is represented by varieties such as Spanish Roja, Siberian, German Red, Music, Inchelium Red, Georgia Fire and Chet’s Italian to name a few. Each has a distinctive flavor ranging from mild to very hot.

Softneck garlic typically has ten to forty smaller cloves arranged in multiple layers and does better in warmer climates. It has a longer shelf life than the hardneck variety; six to eight months as compared with hardneck’s two to four months. Softneck garlic is more likely to be what you find in the supermarket.

Remember to purchase your garlic bulbs from your local garden center or online in time for planting in early October. Do not use garlic from the supermarket which is sold not for its fine flavor but for its superior storage time. When determining how many bulbs to purchase, remember that each bulb has a number of individual cloves, each of which will produce another entire bulb.

Select a sunny spot for planting to ensure larger bulbs and prepare your soil by blending in aged compost and/or sphagnum peat moss. Then plant each clove, with its skin intact, pointed end up three to four inches deep and four to six inches apart. Garlic will thrive in moist, well-drained soil so do not let it dry out during its life cycle. For this reason, mulching the garlic after it is planted with six to eight inches of straw is recommended. Although the cloves may sprout during warm fall days, don’t be alarmed as those shoots will not be harmed during the cold winter temperatures. Garlic needs a steady supply of moisture even throughout the winter months to develop market-sized bulbs. The application of one inch of water per week during dry periods through mid-June will ensure good sizing. Avoid irrigating garlic after this period to encourage maturation and to discourage bulb diseases.

Hardneck varieties will develop a flower, known as a scape, during the summer. Scapes should be cut off when they appear in order to make the bulbs larger. Scapes are edible and provide a milder taste in advance of harvesting the actual bulbs. When the garlic leaves start to turn brown in late July, your garlic will be ready to harvest.  Using a garden fork, carefully lift each bulb out of the soil. Then cure your harvest on a screen or newspaper in a warm, shaded and well-ventilated location for two to three weeks, at which point your garlic will be dried, or “cured.” Next, cut off the leaves leaving about two inches of stem and store the bulbs in a cool place in paper bags until you are ready to use them.  Remember to set aside some of your largest bulbs for planting next October.

When you have questions, Colorado State University Extension has research based answers. Get answers to your horticulture questions by calling a Master Gardener Volunteer at 719-520-7684 or ask.extension.org. For current garden tips visit https://www.facebook.com/ColoradoMasterGardeners.EPC.