Illustrative photograph of garlic bulbs · Matthew Pilachowski / Wikimedia Commons · CC0 public domain.
Hello New Canaan,
If you’ve put gardening out of your mind until spring, garlic has an awkward request: come back outside.
A clove—the little segment you would ordinarily peel for dinner—can become a whole new head of garlic. You separate the cloves and plant them individually. The part that feels backward is the timing: here in Connecticut, you do it as winter approaches.
UConn Extension’s Connecticut growing guide recommends planting in November, adjusting to the weather, with a harvest to aim for in mid- to late July. Garlic needs a period of winter chilling to help initiate bulb formation. The cold months are part of its development.
That turns a small patch of ground into a rather long commitment: something you plant now for a meal you won’t cook until next summer.
What happens while you wait
The University of New Hampshire’s growing guide explains the aim of fall planting: let cloves root before winter without much growth above ground. Fall shoots are not necessarily a disaster; plants usually survive and emerge in spring.
There is a second detail worth knowing before you choose what to plant. Garlic comes in hardneck and softneck types. Hardneck garlic produces a firm flowering stalk called a scape. When those stalks begin to curl, you can cut and eat them. University of Minnesota Extension describes that edible stage and explains that softneck varieties generally do not produce the same stalk.
So with hardneck garlic, there can be something to bring into the kitchen before the bulbs are ready. The curly green stems and the familiar papery head are two stages of the same crop. If you’ve seen scapes for sale and wondered what on earth they were, that is the connection.
For planting, start with healthy garlic sold as planting stock. UNH cautions that supermarket garlic may not be suited to the regional climate and advises discarding moldy or damaged cloves. “Seed garlic” means cloves to plant, rather than a packet of tiny seeds.
A few cloves are enough for an experiment. UNH’s guide calls for planting them pointed end up, 2–3 inches deep, with at least six inches between neighbors. Choose well-drained soil; its guidance also explains how mulch helps protect the planting from the ground’s freezing and shifting. Follow the full growing instructions rather than treating a planting date as a guarantee.
You could mark the spot, note the date and photograph what emerges in spring. It would make a good project with a child, too: start with an ingredient they recognize, then follow how it grows. No need to promise a perfect harvest to make that worth trying.
Learn the planting part at Grace Farms
Grace Farms’ horticulture specialist Michael Poulin will demonstrate preparing, planting and caring for garlic this Saturday. Participants take home a hand-selected head to plant. It’s a chance to see the process before trying it in your own garden—and to ask about the conditions you actually have.
Nature Workshop | Garlic runs Saturday, November 7, 11 a.m.–noon, at Grace Farms, 365 Lukes Wood Road, New Canaan. Tickets are $20, or $16 for Grace Farms members. Workshop details and ticket booking.
Four more plans for November 5–11
Look closely at a print that can’t be repeated exactly
Thursday–Saturday, November 5–7 · 10 a.m.–3 p.m. Carriage Barn Arts Center · 681 South Avenue, New Canaan
Monothon brings together monotypes: one-of-a-kind works made by transferring an image from a plate onto paper. The exhibition draws from the Center for Contemporary Printmaking’s marathon of art-making. Gallery admission is free, with donations suggested. These are the daytime viewing hours; the evening benefit is a separate ticketed event.
Meet the puppy joining the Pinkalicious celebration
Saturday, November 7 · 2–4 p.m. New Canaan Library · 151 Main Street, New Canaan
Author and illustrator Victoria Kann will read her new picture book, Snickerdoodle, answer questions and sign books as Pinkalicious turns 20. There will be family crafts and activities, with books available from Elm Street Books, a Shop New Canaan Association member. The program is free. Register every adult and child attending; caregivers must stay and participate.
Monday, November 9 · 7–8 p.m. New Canaan Library · 151 Main Street, New Canaan
Suzanne Nelson, Weina Dai Randel and Heather Webb discuss how they build fiction from historical research, followed by audience questions and a book signing. It is a useful evening for readers who wonder where documented history ends and a novelist’s choices begin. The program is free, with registration required.
Find out what changes when herbs meet hot or cold water
Wednesday, November 11 · 3–4:30 p.m. Grace Farms · 365 Lukes Wood Road, New Canaan
Tea educator Frank Kwei leads a tasting of hot and cold herbal blends, explaining their ingredients, origins and preparation. The session takes place in the Tea Pavilion. Tickets are $25, $20 for Grace Farms members, or free for Tea Advocate members. Book through Grace Farms.
