When to Plant Garlic in Maine

Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners

By Tom Vigue

Garlic growing at MOFGA’s Common Ground Education Center in Unity. English photo.

People usually say mid-October is about the right time for when to plant garlic in Maine. That rule of thumb will, in most years, produce a decent crop.

But why are more or fewer cloves per bulb sometimes produced, or more double cloves? Why is storage life better some years than others? Why do some harvested bulbs weigh more or less (even if they are of normal size) than others?

Growing garlic isn’t hard. But knowing some of its quirks helps answer these questions to figure out the right time of when to plant garlic.

Here’s an example. ‘Georgian Fire,’ a Porcelain type garlic, most often has four very large cloves per bulb, but a friend’s ‘Georgian Fire’ produced six or so cloves per bulb and the bulbs were not as hard as expected, nor as long keeping. At the same time, my own crop produced an average of three cloves per bulb. Some had only two! They were very hard and kept longer than usual – but only two cloves? That’s very discouraging for propagation. And in the kitchen, one rarely wants a clove that big.

Time and temperature

It turns out, temperature and time of planting were at play.

Garlic performs best if the planting stock is exposed to temperatures between 43 and 50 degrees for about two weeks before planting. If the stock does not experience enough cold before planting, it will produce bulbs with more but smaller cloves and with an increased tendency to double cloves (two cloves joined together). Such bulbs, though significantly larger, will likely weigh less and have looser skins than those from properly chilled stock, resulting in shorter storage life.

On the other hand, planting stock exposed to a lot of time at temperatures in the 30s will produce bulbs that will be, on average, significantly smaller with many fewer cloves and almost no tendency to double cloves. Such bulbs will be denser and heavier, with a longer storage life. But only two huge cloves per bulb is just too discouraging. Something between these extremes is ideal.

My friend, I learned, stored her planting stock indoors until planting time, so it was not exposed to cold. Storing the stock in a woodshed or similar cold structure would help.

My own stock was stored in a woodshed. For a few seasons, circumstances made me plant late, so I exposed the stock to many frosty nights before planting. As a solution, I moved the stock indoors after it experienced enough cold. Moving cloves indoors will not negate the benefit the cold already had on the stock.

When to plant garlic

The second issue is the date of planting. Planting at the right time helps garlic grow year-round. Garlic does best when planted about four weeks before the ground freezes, because root growth begins in the fall. A critical humidity, provided by soil moisture, induces root growth. That humidity usually occurs one to two weeks after planting, when roots will grow for a couple of weeks more before soils freeze.

I can’t overstress the importance of fall root growth. Since some root growth always precedes sprouting and leaf growth, garlic that fails to grow roots in the fall will emerge and begin leaf growth later in the spring. Maximum leaf growth, which directly affects maximum bulb size, occurs by summer solstice. Any loss of growing days before solstice means correspondingly smaller bulbs.

Although some root growth is needed before sprouting can begin, planting too early in the fall could induce leaf sprouting then. A little sprouting is probably okay, but if sprouts emerge from the soil, an abrupt, severe cold snap could injure them.

Getting the timing right is basically a crapshoot. Who knows when the ground will freeze this year, or next year, or any year? All we can do is try our best. At least we will understand what is going on when we get it right (or wrong).

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Cornucopia for Floral Design

Mississippi State Extension

The cornucopia, or horn of plenty, is an exuberant decorative motif fitting for the harvest season. Its form allows it to overspill with the bounty of the harvest. Many people associate the horn of plenty with the Thanksgiving holiday, but its roots date back much further than the early observances by European settlers in modern Virginia and Massachusetts.

The word itself combines two Latin words, cornu (horn) and copiae (plenty). It is a symbol of abundance and blessings. The American Institute of Floral Designers Guide to Floral Design defines it as:

A container, often a basket, shaped like a goat’s horn or cone, typically filled and overflowing with fruits, flowers, foliage, and/or grains.

The word cornucopia may have originated from Greek mythology, referring to the horned goat Amalthea that nursed baby Zeus or Jupiter. The symbol of plenty was used to depict fertile regions on maps and prosperous countries in art through the modern era.

It is appropriate to use this symbol in the places where people live, work, dine, and congregate because it reminds us to be thankful and grateful for the fruits of the earth. In floral design, we tend to assign the cornucopia to Thanksgiving tables because of its association with the harvest. But let’s rethink this practice and consider it for decoration throughout the year!

It is possible to purchase premade basket cornucopias, but they can be challenging to find, and the selections of sizes and finishes are often limited. This publication offers a variety of cornucopia designs that you can make yourself. We developed these projects for all levels of floral designers.

The first three designs are variations on the same foundation. They were each constructed using 12-by-12-inch squares of chicken wire. We folded the wire into a funnel form, then used the loose wires to bind and hold it in shape.



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Bulletin #2750, An Introduction to Seed Saving for the Home Gardener

By Mark Hutton, Extension Vegetable Specialist, University of Maine Cooperative Extension

For information about UMaine Extension programs and resources, visit extension.umaine.edu.

Find more of our publications and books at extension.umaine.edu/publications/.

Rediscovering Seed Saving

Seed saving is an ancient art that enabled humans to cease being hunter-gatherers. Up until the end of World War II, home gardeners typically saved their own seeds, because high-quality seeds at affordable prices were generally not available. However, seed saving declined with the development of the commercial seed industry, which made low-cost, high-quality vegetable and flower seeds readily available. Presently, renewed interest in heirloom, unique, and locally adapted vegetable and flower varieties is sparking a resurgence in seed saving.



Seed-saving is a natural next step for passionate gardeners. Saving seeds not only allows home gardeners to save money; it provides them with an opportunity to express their creativity! This is because saving seed is a form of selection—the very basis of plant breeding. When choosing which plants to save seed from, a gardener must decide which plants have the most desirable characteristics in terms of meeting their goals for plant size, yield, fruit quality, maturity date, attractiveness, etc., thus helping to improve the offspring. When you save seed from your garden, you can create a cultivar uniquely suited to your location, your aesthetic sensibilities, and culinary tastes. Saving seeds takes time, planning, and attention to detail. Here are some basics to get you started on your seed saving adventure.

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Keeping a Nature Notebook

State of Maine

Nature journaling is a fun way to keep track of things you see and help you remember your experiences in nature. People have been doing this for centuries as either part of in-depth scientific research, as a way to pass the time, as an amateur naturalist, or just for fun.

Getting Started – It’s Easy!

Who: all ages

Where: inside or outside, in a city or in a rural town

Materials: Something to write on and to write with: Notebook, plain paper, pencil, crayon, pen, markers, clipboard, etc.

Length of time: 15 minutes or more

*Note* You don’t need to know the names of things. It’s your observations, and you can always learn the names and ways to identify things later if you want.

Let’s Begin: Grab your writing materials and head out or over to a window. Pick an area you want to observe or place you’d like to walk (start with one area near your home is best for practice). You can even sit and look out a window- nature can be found everywhere.

*Make sure the area is safe and you are allowed to be there.



• Take a minute and just observe - look, breathe, smell, listen

• Now settle in a spot and begin your journal or page Things to include in your observations in your nature journal: The Basic information -

• Date - help you remember when you were there

• Time - different animals are around at different times

• Location - doesn’t have to be exact but knowing town, road, preserve can help with context

• Habitat - is it a forest, field, pond, beach, parking lot, yard, playground, or more than one

• Weather - I like to include this because it can affect what is around to see. I like to include the basics- sun or clouds, rain, snow, or other, wind, etc - doesn’t have to be exact just to give an idea

• Who is with you? Record your Observations-Your observations can be about one particular thing or an overall impression of the site. Sometimes I just start openly writing across the page or divide it up into a few blocks or sections, so I don’t feel pressured to fill a page, there are many ways to keep your journal.

• What colors do you see? You can write about this or add the actual colors to your page with crayons, pencil, paint, etc.

• What do the plants look like right now? Can you make a sketch or describe them?

• What do you hear? Make a list or you can sketch or describe

• Do you see any animals? What are they doing? Where are they?

• Try sketching a leaf or plant you see near - by, try sketching it without picking up your pencil and without looking at the paper Play around with your observations and the format you use each time. If you use the block method, use one block for each observation and keep all the basic information at the top of the page or in one block. There are many options, ways, and reasons to keep notes about nature. Take the time to observe nature, reflect, learn, and create a connection to nature.

Events of Interest

• November 11 - Turkey-Cranberry Meatballs & Stuffed Acorn Squash
• November 15 - Pine Needle Basket Fall 2023 - Dover-Foxcroft
• November 16 - Holiday Gifts from Nature - Gourd Ornaments and MORE! - Bangor, ME
• November 17 & 25 - Festival of Trees - Waterville
• November 18 - Great Fall Potato Sale - UMaine Page Farm
• November 18 & 19 - Maine Harvest Festival
• November 28 - Giant Holiday Gnomes Fall 2023 - Dover-Foxcroft, ME
• November 29 - Holiday Gifts from Nature - Giant Gnomes - Bangor, ME

Other Garden Resources