How to Grow Garlic

Steps

1. 1

   Pick a planting site

   Choose a spot in full sun. That means at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight a day. The soil should be moist, loose, and sandy, and it must drain well. Do not use a bed where onions or other alliums grew last season. Alliums are the onion family, which includes garlic, leeks, and shallots. Ideally, wait at least three years after alliums grew in that bed.

2. 2

   Buy quality seed garlic

   Buy seed garlic from a trusted supplier. Seed garlic is garlic sold for planting. Do not plant bulbs from the grocery store. Those bulbs are often treated with chemicals that stop them sprouting. They may also carry pests or disease.

3. 3

   Time your planting

   Plant your cloves about a month before the first frost. This gives them time to grow roots before the soil freezes. The plants then grow slowly over the following months. You get a large harvest by mid-summer.

4. Garlic needs a real winter to grow properly. After planting, the cloves need several weeks of cold. That is roughly 4 to 8 weeks at 32 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit. In Celsius, that is 0 to 10 degrees. The exact time depends on the variety. This cold spell triggers vernalization. Vernalization is what makes the bulb divide into separate cloves. Without it, the bulb stays one undivided lump, called a "round". This is part of why fall planting matters. It puts the cloves in the ground in time to get that chill naturally, before growth starts again in spring. Gardeners in mild-winter climates can give the cold themselves. Try refrigerating seed garlic for several weeks before planting.
5. 4

   Prepare the soil

   Prepare the soil before you plant. Pull out the weeds and add compost. Then add a couple of tablespoons of 5-10-10 complete fertilizer, bonemeal, or fish meal for each square foot. Work it into the top few inches of soil.

6. 5

   Break apart the bulb

   Break the bulbs into single cloves. Leave the papery skin around each clove in place. Choose the largest cloves for your garden.

7. 6

   Plant the cloves

   Plant each clove about two inches deep. The pointy end faces up and the root end faces down. Space the cloves four to eight inches apart. If you plant more than one row, space the rows six to twelve inches apart.

8. 7

   Mulch for winter

   Does the ground freeze where you live? Then mulch the planting deeply with straw or chopped autumn leaves. Mulch is a thick cover laid over the soil. It helps the plants get through the winter. In spring, once the risk of frost has passed, remove the mulch. Leave only a light layer.

9. 8

   Trim the scapes

   Garlic scapes are the curling flower stalks that grow on hardneck garlic. They appear in late spring or early summer, several months after planting. Cut each one off once it has formed one full loop. The plant then puts its energy into growing bigger bulbs instead.

10. 9

    Harvest at the right time

    Your garlic is ready when most of the bottom leaves have turned brown. This is usually mid to late summer. Dig up one bulb to check. It should be well wrapped in its skin and not split. Then loosen the soil a few inches away from the plant with a garden fork. Lift the bulb out. Do not pull it up by the leaves, because garlic bruises easily.

11. 10

    Cure the bulbs

    After the harvest, brush the loose soil off the bulbs. Then cure them. Curing means drying the bulbs slowly so they store well. Spread them out or hang them in a warm, dry place with plenty of moving air. Keep them out of direct sun. Leave them for two to four weeks, until the tops and roots are dry.

12. 11

    Store the cured garlic

    Once the garlic is cured, trim off the tops and roots. Store it in a cool, dark, dry place. Never store garlic in oil at room temperature. Garlic in oil can grow the bacteria that cause botulism, and it looks and smells completely normal.