How to Grow Garlic

No kitchen is fully stocked without garlic. Which means no garden is complete without garlic. Once you learn how easy it is to grow garlic, you’ll realize that you simply have to have at least a few plants in your garden. If you are already growing vegetables, then garlic will add almost no additional effort to maintain.

But what is garlic? It is a member of the onion family, which means it is a vegetable. Not only is it an essential ingredient in virtually every cuisine on the globe, it is also widely used as a folk remedy. Clinical studies have proven it to be an extremely healthy and beneficial food for the digestive and circulatory systems.

To Seed, or to Bulb? That Is the Question

Garlic plants do not produce seeds, so they must be grown from cloves, the little pieces that cluster together to form a garlic bulb. Cloves can be ordered from vegetable seed catalogs in a number of different varieties, or you can simply grow from cloves purchased at the grocery store, which are usually soft-neck garlic. There is a whole other variety of garlic called hard-neck garlic, and many hybrids are available, all with widely varying flavors. Just like other vegetables, hybrids should be selected not only for taste, but for success growing in your soil type and plant zone.

Generally, garlic likes well-drained loamy or sandy soil high in organic content. Plant the cloves pointy side up in autumn, 2 inches deep if you live in warm climates, or over 4 inches deep in cold climates. Some varieties of garlic, unlike other vegetables, need a good cold snap to activate the growing. Common soft-neck garlic can be planted any time of year, though, and it will sprout within a few days. If your garlic shoots begin to flower, pinch off the buds immediately or your garlic will taste bitter. Bulbs are ready to harvest when the tops of the stems turn brown.

Garlic can even be grown in plant containers on a sunny porch or window. It is a low maintenance vegetable, and you’ll notice a pronounced difference in flavor between the many hybrids, which are far more unique than the common garlic you get in the store. Try growing garlic! You’ll be glad you did.

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