Growing Garlic Blog

Summer 2022 - Prepping next season's garlic plot.

Soil amendments like mustard seed and buckwheat are used to grow premium seed garlic. Making growing garlic better.

Mustard seed - 2022

Mustard seed on the left and buckwheat on the right - 2022

@upbackfarms we amend our soil with natural elements, such as aged horse manure, red and white clover, buckwheat and mustard seed. Mustard seed and buckwheat become green manure and are a natural biofumigant which can help reduce soil pests like wireworms. The trick in using mustard seed is not letting it go to seed, but to till the plants into the soil prematurely to maximize its affect, about two weeks after flowering starts.

Stay tuned for more on this as we will discover how effective this approach was.

More importantly, this approach plays a large part in our commitment to avoid the use of chemical treatments and helps rebuild and strengthen the soil.

Till Mustard Seed Early

Tilled mustard seed 2022

Mustard seed left to decompose until Fall planting 2022

Aged horse manure and mustard seed 2022

Let Mustard Seed Decompose

The above two pictures show freshly tilled mustard seed that was left to breakdown naturally for a couple of months. We managed to spread a load of horse manure, as well. This is the soil the 2023 crop is growing in. Can't wait to see how the PEI garlic does this year.