Well, it’s that time a year when you plant your garlic cloves.
First: Is it necessary to soak garlic before planting? It depends on the garlic itself, if the cloves are nice and healthy with no signs of any fungus, bacteria then no don’t do a sterilize soak, but if the cloves do show signs of fungus and or you have issues with repeated fungal diseases coming from the soil, then yes soak your garlic. (Please note that if you have soil that has bacteria or a fungus, you need to find a new location to plant your garlic).
- If it is a sterilizer that is needed, then Sterilizer Options:
- Isopropyl Alcohol 70%+ (do not dilute)
- Cheap Vodka (do not dilute)
- Hydrogen Peroxide 3%+ (do not dilute)
Soak the cloves in a full-strength sterilizer for around 10 minutes.
If a fertilizer solution is needed, here at Arcade Acres we do routinely do a fertilizer soak before planting.
- Put cloves into a container with a fertilizer like fish emulsion or kelp meal (we use ¼ cup fish emulsion from Alaska to one gallon of water)
- Add 1 teaspoon of baking soda to the same gallon of water.
- Soak for a maximum of 72 hours or less.
- Drain the solution into your garlic plot.
- Start planting cloves
