Hey everyone! I'm diving into veggie gardening for the first time in a community garden, and I just found out that garlic is already sprouting in my plot from the previous gardener. I'm eager to plant some cooler-season veggies like peas, but the garlic is all over the bed. Should I hold off until June to plant everything, or is it okay to pull up some of the garlic in May without harming it? I'm just worried because our growing season in zone 6a is a bit short, and I'm not sure if my tomatoes will last that long in my apartment.
1 Answer
Looks like your garlic won't be ready until July, so it's probably safe to weed out some of it where you want to plant your veggies. The longer you leave it, the better it gets as green garlic! When I grow mine, I put them in a back section of my bed and grow peas and greens up front. If you can manage your watering and vertical space, you can plant pretty densely. Just double-check that what you have is actually garlic and not garlic chives, which can spread like crazy! Garlic should have some decent-sized leaves by now in your zone.
Haha, I’d totally plant that much garlic too! But you make a good point about the density. Yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s actual garlic. I need to plan tightly since my space is limited, so I think I’ll just take some out and leave what I can.