Growing Garlic

Most garlic lovers know that garlic is a must-have in the kitchen. Make it a must-have in your home vegetable garden.

bulbs of garlic
Garlic plants can be grown from
bulbs purchased in a grocery store.

Garlic must have cool temperatures during its early growth period, but it's not affected by heat in the later stages. Plant garlic in the spring in the North; in the South you can get good results with fall planting. You grow garlic from cloves or bulblets, which are planted with the plump side down. The cloves need full sun and well-worked soil that drains well and is high in organic matter. Plant the cloves four to six weeks before the average date of last frost. Plant them 1 to 2 inches deep and 4 to 6 inches apart. Keep garlic slightly dry, especially when the bulbs are near maturity; this will improve flavor. Keep the area cultivated.

Harvesting Garlic

Harvest the bulbs by digging the entire plant when the tops start to dry: that's the sign the bulbs are mature. Mature plants take 90 days from planting. Use the plumpest cloves for cooking and plant the others.

Types of Garlic

Few varieties of garlic are available. Grow plants from cloves purchased from the grocery.

In the next section, we'll talk about selecting and preparing garlic.

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