Spring Garlic Recommendations
Crystal Stewart-Courtens, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
April 2, 2012

Weed control: Once weeds are allowed to establish in a garlic field, garlic is virtually unable to compete for water, nutrients and light. The key to weed control is to take care of weeds early. There are a few chemical controls available (Table 1). Clean, weed-free mulch is often applied in the fall after the ground freezes and may be left on through the growing season. This will suppress germination of annual weeds. Perennial weeds should be controlled physically or chemically prior to planting in the fall, because they are nearly impossible to control during the growing season. Surface cultivation between rows to control seedlings is effective, but in-row mechanical cultivation is quite disruptive. Flame weeding of seedlings between rows is also effective if no hay mulch is being used. -CLS
Garlic Fertility Table 1 (pdf; 184KB)


Upcoming Events
Hudson Valley Orchard Weed Management Meeting

June 25, 2025 : Hudson Valley Orchard Weed Management Meeting
Poughkeepsie, NY
At this meeting, we will discuss previous research on using mulch for weed management, including the benefits of stacking mulch treatments with an organic herbicide program. We will then discuss the treatments in our field trial, discuss results to date, and get initial reactions from the grower, while viewing the field trial. We will then discuss the other study objective, using a mechanical weeding system to replace contact herbicide applications, currently underway in the Champlain Valley.