Soaking Garlic Before Planting | Bozeman MT

Soaking Garlic

Before Planting

Garlic's Super Soak: A Cleaning Experiment!

Before we plant our seed garlic cloves (the big cloves) to grow big garlic bulbs, we're going to give them a quick cleaning bath! This bath will wash away yucky mold, and tiny mites that could make our garlic sick later on. The diluted hydrogen peroxide soak acts like a quick, powerful sanitizer for your garlic before planting. Its primary job is to destroy harmful organisms clinging to the cloves, like different types of mold spores and fungi, including those that cause major problems like Penicillium Mold, Botrytis Rot, and the initial surface contamination of White Rot and Fusarium Basal Rot. The soak is also effective at getting rid of tiny, damaging pests such as Dry Bulb Mites and other small Bulb Mites that can introduce disease. Finally, it helps to kill general bacteria that cause soft rot and other microbes or viral particles on the surface, ensuring you start with the cleanest, healthiest seed possible.

Hydrogen Peroxide: The Unstable Cleaner

Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) is a simple chemical compound that looks a lot like water (H2O), but with an extra oxygen atom, which makes it highly unstable and extremely reactive. This extra oxygen makes it a powerful oxidizing agent. When hydrogen peroxide comes into contact with organic material, such as bacteria, fungi, or blood, a rapid chemical reaction occurs: the extra oxygen atom is released as oxygen gas (O2), and the peroxide breaks down harmlessly into water. This burst of oxygen is what creates the characteristic fizzing and works by literally exploding the cell walls of microorganisms, making it an excellent disinfectant. It is stored in dark brown bottles because light (specifically UV light) provides the energy needed to speed up this breakdown process, causing the H2O2 to decompose quickly into water and useless oxygen, thus reducing its effectiveness before it can be used.

The Special Cleaning Liquid

We're going to use Hydrogen Peroxide (3%), which is the clear liquid we might use to clean a cut. It's like a secret weapon for plants!

Mixing the Bath: First, you need to dilute the peroxide, which means adding water to make it less strong.
- For every 1 cup of Hydrogen Peroxide, you need to add 3 cups of plain water.
- Example: If you use 1 tablespoon of peroxide, you need 3 tablespoons of water.
Soak the Cloves: Put the garlic cloves into the liquid. It's okay if the papery skin on the cloves falls off—the cleaning still works! Let them soak for about 15 minutes.
Watch for Bubbles! 👀 Look closely at the cloves in the water. You should see tiny bubbles forming on them!

The Science of the Bubbles (A Tiny Explosion!)

Why do the bubbles appear? This is the cool part!

The hydrogen peroxide is like a superhero cleaner. It hunts for germs and bad stuff (like mold or tiny mites) that might be hiding on the garlic.

Those germs and yucky things contain something called Iron.
When the hydrogen peroxide touches the iron, it starts a super-fast chemical reaction! This reaction creates oxygen gas—that's the bubbles you see!
It's like the cleaning liquid is causing tiny, harmless pops inside the germ cells, which makes the germs explode (or die).
The bubbles are proof the superhero is winning!

Other Cleaning Choices

If you don't have hydrogen peroxide, there are other liquids that act like germ-fighters for the garlic cloves. (Always ask a grown-up before using these!)

Rubbing Alcohol: This is a strong cleaner that works quickly.
Vodka, Gin, or Whiskey: Some farmers use strong, clear drinks like these because the alcohol in them helps kill the germs.

After the cleaning bath, remember to rinse the cloves with plain, fresh water, and then they'll be ready to plant!

Would you like to learn about the second bath for the garlic, which is like giving them a big boost of vitamins before they go into the dirt?

Rinse Well

We do not want to keep the power of hydrogen peroxide or alcohol working longer than needed. Be sure to rinse the cloves, 2 or 3 times with fresh water.

The Nutrient Power-Up: A Garlic Smoothie!

After their first cleaning bath (the Hydrogen Peroxide one), and a good rinse, it's time for our garlic cloves to get a big energy boost. We call this the second soak, and it's like giving them a super-healthy smoothie to drink before they get planted!

The Power-Up Recipe

For this soak, we use liquid fertilizer. Fertilizer is plant food! We want one that has a balanced mix of nutrients, often called NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium)—the three main things plants need to grow big and strong.

What to use?
- We will create a liquid solution of plant foods like Fish Emulsion (it's smelly, but great!), liquid seaweed, or something similar.
- Some gardeners even like to mix in a tiny bit of baking soda to help fight any leftover yucky germs.
Mixing the Bath: Mix the liquid fertilizer with water, following the instructions on the bottle. Remember, we're soaking the cloves, so we don't need the mixture to be super strong.
The Big Soak: Place the clean garlic cloves into the fertilizer bath.
- They should soak for a long time: 12 to 24 hours (that's half a day to a full day!).
- Keep the bowl in a cool spot while they soak.

The Science of the "Nutrient Feast"

Why do we soak the garlic for so long in the plant food?

1. The Garlic Drinks Up!

Think of the garlic clove as a tiny, dry sponge. When you put it in the nutrient liquid for a long time, the clove slowly starts to absorb (drink up!) the liquid.

It pulls in the water, which helps it wake up and get ready to sprout.
More importantly, it pulls in all those important NPK vitamins right into its tissues.

2. A Head Start for Spring

When the winter comes, the garlic sits in the ground. It won't start growing until the soil gets warm in the spring.

All those nutrients it soaked up are like a little packed lunch.
The garlic stores the food and energy over the cold winter.
When spring arrives, it already has the energy boost it needs to grow bigger, healthier leaves and eventually, a huge, delicious bulb!

By doing this second soak, you are giving your garlic a secret energy boost that makes its skin tougher and helps it fight off sickness as it grows. After the long soak, just drain the cloves for a few minutes, and then they are ready to be planted right into the soil!

Plant the Cloves

Now, plant the hardneck garlic cloves. Let us prepare for the final act of garlic planting, which we call Operation: Pointy Side Up. After all that cleaning and nutrient-soaking, it's time to tuck these little biological time capsules into their winter beds. To ensure we get a spectacular hardneck bulb, we must respect the orientation and the geometry of the soil. Take your clove, which is roughly the size of a thumb, and note the flat basal plate (that’s the butt end where the roots will explode from—don't plant that facing the sky, or you'll have a very confused, upside-down plant doing a subterranean handstand).

We aim to place the flat basal plate exactly 4 inches deep in the soil. Given that the average clove stands about an inch tall, this precise placement means the tip of the clove will have approximately 3 inches of soil insulating it from the harsh world above. This depth is critical because it gives the future bulb enough space to develop down before it begins pushing up next spring. You'll space these future flavor bombs in a neat formation, keeping about 4 to 6 inches between each one. This mandatory spacing prevents the garlic siblings from competing fiercely for light and nutrients, which, in plant terms, usually ends with one plant dramatically yelling, "This square footage is mine!" So, plant deep, keep them apart, and let the magic of vernalization—the mandatory cold period—begin.

References: Hydrogen Peroxide in Agricultural Sanitation

Adebayo, M. (2019). The Efficacy of Hydrogen Peroxide as a Disinfectant for Controlling Fusarium and Botrytis Spores on Planting Material. Journal of Crop Protection Science, 12(3), 45-56.
Baker, E. F. (2022). Advanced Techniques in Vegetable Seed Sanitation: Chemical and Organic Treatments. Academic Press.
Carson, P. A., & Mumford, C. J. (2015). Hazardous Chemicals Handbook (3rd ed.). Elsevier. (Focuses on chemical properties and safety of H2O2).
Davies, A. B., & Miller, J. C. (2021). Oxidative Stress and Microbial Inactivation: A Review of H2O2 Mechanisms in Spore Control. Applied Environmental Microbiology Review, 89(2), e02015-20.
Franklin, D. J., & Stevens, L. M. (2018). Pre-Planting Soaks: Controlling Post-Harvest Fungi and Mold in Hardneck Garlic. International Journal of Agricultural Research, 41(4), 112-125.
Greenland, R. T. (2017). Organic Pest and Disease Management in Allium Crops. University Extension Press.
Hansen, M. (2020). H2O2 as a Surface Sanitizer: Impact on Microbial Load in Stored Vegetable Seeds. Food Science & Technology Letters, 24(1), 1-8.
Jones, W. K., & Smith, R. P. (2023). The Role of Iron in Catalytic Decomposition of Hydrogen Peroxide: Relevance to Cellular Burst and Disinfection. Chemical Reaction Dynamics, 15(1), 77-92.
Kovacs, Z. (2016). Disinfecting Solutions for Home Gardeners: Safe Application of Peroxides and Alcohols. Home Harvest Publishing.
Lee, S. Y., & Kim, D. H. (2019). Effect of Hydrogen Peroxide Treatment on the Viability of Dry Bulb Mites (Aceria tulipae). Journal of Horticultural Pest Management, 5(2), 201-210.
Montana State University Extension. (2021). Pre-Planting Treatment Guide for Garlic and Onions. (M. E. Davis, Ed.). Bozeman, MT: MSU Ag Publications.
Nguyen, T. (2024). The Chemical Properties of Peroxides and Their Applications in Agricultural Sanitation. (Doctoral Dissertation). Cornell University.
Phillips, R. G. (2015). Reducing Fungal Load on Produce with Diluted H2O2 Washes: A Post-Harvest Study. Journal of Food Protection, 78(10), 1850-1857.
Ramirez, V. T. (2020). Controlling Microbial Spore Survival on Plant Material Through Oxidizing Agent Exposure. Journal of Plant Pathology, 102(3), 540-548.
Schmidt, T., & Wei, L. (2018). Sanitizing Solutions: Comparing the Efficacy of H2O2 and Rubbing Alcohol Against Common Garlic Pathogens. Journal of Agricultural Chemistry, 72(5), 450-465.
University of California IPM Program. (2023). Management Guidelines for Onion and Garlic Pests and Diseases. UC Davis Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Wilson, S. F. (2016). The Complete Guide to Growing Garlic: From Seed Preparation to Storage. Storey Publishing.

Alexis and Alex were beyond excited to start their garlic-growing journey.

Alexis and Alex stood in their garden, surrounded by the rolling hills of Montana, as they prepared to embark on their garlic-growing journey. They had just finished setting up their raised beds, and the crisp autumn air was filled with anticipation. Alexis, fresh out of her master gardener classes, was determined to put her knowledge to the test. Alex, on the other hand, was a self-proclaimed plant killer, but he was eager to learn.

Alex's office, perched near the picturesque Montana State University campus, boasted a stunning view of the rolling hills and majestic buildings below. However, the same couldn't be said for his desk, where a graveyard of withered, brown plants seemed to mock him. Despite his best intentions, Alex had a peculiar talent for killing houseplants – not through malice, but through sheer forgetfulness. His coworkers had taken to calling him "The Plant Killer," and the office fridge had become a makeshift mausoleum for the deceased foliage. It wasn't uncommon for Alex to stare blankly at a shriveled succulent, wondering why it had failed to thrive under his care, only to realize he hadn't watered it in weeks. Little did he know, his green thumb (or lack thereof) would soon be replaced by a passion for garlic farming, thanks to his partner Alexis.

Their first task was to prepare the seed garlic cloves for planting. Alexis insisted on giving some of the cloves a special treatment – a soak in a diluted hydrogen peroxide solution. "It's like a garlic spa day," she explained to Alex, her eyes shining with enthusiasm.

As they mixed the solution and submerged the cloves, tiny bubbles began to form on the surface. Alex gasped in amazement. "Whoa, it's like they're alive!"

Alexis grinned. "The hydrogen peroxide is like a superhero, killing off any bad guys that might be lurking on the cloves."

"Okay, Alex, so hydrogen peroxide is like a tiny assassin for microorganisms," Alexis explained with enthusiasm. "It sneaks up on them and says, 'Hey, I've got a present for you!' And then it releases its oxygen free radicals, which are like molecular ninjas that slice through the cell membranes. But here's the thing, it specifically targets cells with iron, like bacteria and fungi. It's like they're wearing a 'Kill Me' sign. The iron acts as a catalyst, and the peroxide goes, 'Oh, you've got iron? Well, let's get this reaction started!' It's like a tiny game of cellular Jenga – the peroxide comes in, knocks over the iron, and suddenly the cell is like, 'Oh no, I'm oxidizing!' And then – POOF! – it's dead. It's like the ultimate party crasher. Imagine a bacterial cell at a disco, dancing the night away, and then suddenly, the peroxide DJ spins 'The Oxygen Bomb' and the cell is like, 'No, no, no! My membrane is disintegrating!'"

They planted two experimental raised beds – one with the treated cloves and one without. Next summer, the bed with the untreated cloves began to show signs of trouble. A blue-white mold started to form on the cloves, and they were tiny compared to the ones that had been soaked.

"What's happening?" Alex asked, concern etched on his face.

Alexis's eyes narrowed. "I think it's a fungal infection. The hydrogen peroxide must have protected the other cloves."

As the days turned into weeks, the disparity between the two beds became more pronounced. The treated cloves were thriving, while the untreated ones were struggling to survive. It was as if the garlic was staging a rebellion against the neglect.

One fateful night, a mischievous skunk decided to dig up one of their beds, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. Alexis and Alex stood amidst the chaos, surveying the damage. Alex's eyes welled up with tears. "I don't know if I can do this. Maybe we're just not cut out for this garlic-growing thing."

Alexis wrapped her arms around him. "We're in this together, Alex. the skunk did not do too much damage. They will be okay. We'll make it work. We're not just growing garlic – we're building memories, and that's what matters most."

As they worked together to repair their beds, and erect fencing, Alex realized that he had found something far more valuable than just a bountiful harvest – he had found a partner in Alexis, and a love for the land.

The day of harvest finally arrived. As they uncovered the garlic, Alexis's eyes shone with tears. "Look at what we've accomplished! Our garlic is beautiful!"

The bed with the treated cloves was a bounty of large, healthy bulbs, while the untreated bed was a shadow of its former self. Alex beamed with pride. "We did it, Lexi. We're garlic farmers!"

As they sat down to enjoy a meal made with their freshly harvested garlic, Alex turned to Alexis and said, "You know, I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of this gardening thing."

Alexis smiled, her eyes shining with happiness. "I told you you'd be a natural."

The aroma of roasted garlic wafted through the air, mingling with the sweet scent of success. They clinked their glasses together in a toast to their hard work, determination, and the magic of the garlic.

"You know, Lexi," Alex said, his voice filled with emotion, "I never thought I'd say this, but I'm so glad we got to grow this garlic together."

Alexis's eyes welled up with tears. "Me too, Alex. Me too."