Planting a Garlic Matrix, No Strings Attached

1. First, I till a 5x10 foot garden and add some compost as I go. Note that I like to put my edible plants in with my flowering plants.

2. Then I lay down a couple of 2x10 foot sections of farm fence. The farm fence has 6x6 inch squares. Four-foot-tall farm fence has smaller openings at the bottom of the fence, so I just use the top half of the fence. In other words, I cut off the bottom of a 4x20 foot section of farm fence to make two 2x10-foot sections.



3. Then, using the farm fence as a guide, I plant. This year I planted garlic and shallots in a 10x20 matrix, resulting in 200 plants: Allium cepa 'Dutch Yellow', Allium cepa 'French', Allium sativum var. ophioscorodon 'Deerfield Purple', Allium sativum var. ophioscorodon 'Music', Allium sativum var. ophioscorodon 'Musik', and Allium sativum var. ophioscorodon 'Northern White'. The barriers surrounding the matrix are to keep the dogs at bay.



4. In the spring, after the garlic starts to grow, I remove the farm fence. This makes it easier to weed and, of course, to harvest. Here in SE Michigan, I usually harvest my garlic in July and plant in September. This year I planted in October because I was waiting for some new garlic to be delivered.