How to Plant Garlic Bulbs
Garlic is an easy plant to grow in your garden if you start with good seed. Don't use the garlic you find at the grocery store. Buy garlic bulbs at the nursery or garden shop to start. Of course, once you've grown your own garlic, you can use cloves from it to start your next crop.
Garlic is grown from individual cloves of garlic. Each bulb can contain up to 20 cloves. Separate the cloves and plant the healthiest in the garden. You can use any weak or small ones in your kitchen.
Choose a site that gets plenty of sun. Make sure the soil is well draining. If it's too damp, the cloves will rot. Traditionally, garlic is planted on the shortest day of the year, in the middle of winter. The reason for this is unknown. However, you can plant your garlic in the early spring, late fall, or early winter. If you plant in the spring, you will need to chill the garlic in the refrigerator for several weeks before planting. Generally, you want to plant your garlic after the first major frost of the year, usually in mid to late October or November. If your winter is very cold, with little snow, protect your garlic with a thick mulch of straw.
Plant your garlic cloves about an inch below the surface of the soil. Put the root end down, with the tip of the clove pointed up. Space them 4 inches apart in rows about 18 inches apart.
Garlic grows well with other plants and can be planted as a companion plant for some of your other plants. Garlic has pesticidal properties that will help keep pests away from the other plants. Garlic is especially effective in protecting lettuces and cabbages. If planted with beets and cabbages, garlic will improve their flavor.
