How to Prepare Soil For Home Grown Garlic!

Garlic is about as trouble-free a herb can get, it's very easy to grow and takes about eight months to mature. Keep in mind plant garlic in a spot where you won't accidentally disturb the dormant bulbs.

Ideally in colder climates you'd plant cloves directly in the ground about six weeks before the soil freezes.

In mild climates, plant in January or February for harvesting in late summer or early fall. You can plant garlic in spring as well as in fall, but expect fewer and smaller bulbs.

Just follow these 10 easy steps for success:

Step One - Buy your garlic bulbs from a reputable nursery in late fall or early winter. Garlic that's grown for eating rather than planting is often treated with a chemical to prevent it from sprouting so don't use cloves from the supermarket.

Step Two - For best results, a garden site that gets full sun is ideal. If you want to get technical and measure soil pH, garlic grows in soil with any pH from 5.0 to 8.0, it does better in the slightly acid range (6.2 to 6.8).

Step Three - Dig and prepare the soil by making improvements. Remove all weeds, then mix in plenty of organic compost to ensure good soil fertility, drainage and moisture retention

Step Four - Plant only the largest and healthiest looking cloves from the bulb, (don't plant pitted or tinged blue-green cloves, this is a sign of mold)

Step Five - Space unpeeled cloves, pointy end up 5 inches apart to a depth of 2 inches. The giant "elephant" garlic variety to a depth of 3 inches and space about 12 inches apart...

Step Six - Layer top of soil with compost, and mulch to retain moisture and deter weeds. In colder climates mulch again after the ground freezes to protect plants from the cold.

Step Seven - In colder climates remove the mulch in spring so the sun can warm the soil, then add a fresh layer when new growth begins.

To ensure large bulbs, cut back any flower stalks that develop, and spray young plants with liquid fertilizer / compost once or twice during the spring.

Step Eight - Every week ensure a good soaking of water until the foliage turns yellow or falls over - indications that bulbs are nearing maturity.

Step Nine - Clip garlic leaves to use any time, but remove no more than 1/4 of a plant's top growth or you'll reduce bulb size.

Step Ten - Begin harvesting bulbs when about 3/4 of the tops are yellow.

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