Content

• Method 2 of 5: Planting Garlic
• Method 3 of 5: Caring for Growing Garlic
• Method 4 of 5: Harvesting Garlic
• Method 5 of 5: Storing Garlic
• Tips
• Warnings
• What do you need

1 Find out when to plant garlic in your area. In general, the best time to plant garlic is mid-fall or early spring.

• Garlic grows well in a wide variety of climates. It grows worse in high temperature and humidity or in places with a lot of rainfall.

2 Choose a planting site and prepare the soil. Garlic needs a lot of sun, but you can plant it in partial shade if it doesn't take up most of the day or season. The soil should be well dug and crumbly. Sandy loam is best.

• Make sure the soil is well drained. Clay soil is not suitable for planting garlic.
• Use compost and manure to add nutrients to the soil before planting the garlic.

3 Purchase fresh garlic. You need teeth for planting. Buy garlic from a grocery store, or better yet, at your local farmers' market. It is very important that the heads of garlic are high quality and fresh. If you can, avoid chemically treated garlic.

• Choose fresh, large cloves of garlic. Don't buy soft garlic.
• Each clove will grow a separate plant, so keep this in mind when calculating the amount of garlic you need.
• If you have sprouted garlic at home, use it.
• Garlic for planting can also be purchased from gardening societies. You can contact the community for a specific variety or for advice on local growing conditions.

Method 2 of 5: Planting Garlic

1. 1 Divide the head of garlic into individual cloves. Be careful not to damage them at the base where they attach to the garlic plate. If the base is damaged, the garlic will not grow.
   • Plant large cloves. Small cloves need the same amount of space in the garden as large ones, but small heads of garlic grow from small cloves.
2. 2 Plant each clove in soil. Point the tip of the clove up and plant the garlic about 5 centimeters deep.
   • For the garlic to grow better, there should be a distance of about 20 centimeters between the cloves.
3. 3 Cover the planted garlic with mulch. For this, hay, dry leaves, straw, compost, well-rotted manure or grass are suitable.
4. 4 Fertilize the garlic or cover with compost. Garlic requires complete fertilization at the time of planting.
   • Fertilize the garlic again in the spring if you planted it in the fall, or in the fall if you planted it in the spring.

Method 3 of 5: Caring for Growing Garlic

1. 1 Water the freshly planted garlic often. The soil must be moist for the roots to develop. Do not overdo it with water, as garlic does not grow well or can even rot if excessive moisture is present during the cold season.
   • If it's not raining, water the garlic well once a week. Garlic doesn't need to be watered unless it's drought, as it hates wet soil.
   • Reduce the amount of water gradually as the temperature rises. Garlic requires hot, dry summers to ripen.
2. 2 Take care of the pests. Insects, mice, and other creatures can feast on garlic or even build a nest among plants. Consider the following:
   • Aphids like garlic leaves and buds. They are easy to get rid of, just rub the insects with your fingers.
   • Many people plant garlic under roses to scare away aphids.
   • Mice and other small creatures sometimes nest in mulch. If there are a lot of mice in your area, try to use mulch that does not attract rodents.

Method 4 of 5: Harvesting Garlic

1. 1 Eat feathers. As soon as the garlic begins to grow, feathers sprout from the head and twist into loops. Garlic feathers can be eaten.
   • This can damage the head, so do not eat the feathers from every plant.
   • Use gloves to collect feathers, otherwise your hands will smell like garlic for several days.
2. 2 Watch for signs that it's time to harvest. It's time to collect garlic if individual cloves are felt in the head, and the feathers have become yellow or brown.
   • As soon as the feathers begin to dry, it is necessary to collect the garlic, otherwise the head will disintegrate into separate cloves.
   • Start harvesting in late summer. In most places, you can pick garlic in early autumn.
   • In warmer climates, you can harvest your garlic earlier.
3. 3 Lightly loosen the soil around each head with a shovel. Pull the heads of garlic out of the ground.
   • Dig carefully as the garlic is easily damaged.
   • Wash it and dry it well for a few days in a well-ventilated area or in the sun if you know it won't rain. Garlic can burn in the sun, so don't leave it there for long.

Method 5 of 5: Storing Garlic

1. 1 Store garlic in a cool, dry place. The heads of garlic can be stored in a special ceramic container for storing garlic, and individual cloves can be taken as needed.
2. 2 Braid the garlic into a braid. You can braid the dried feathers and heads into a braid and hang it in your closet or kitchen. It is not only convenient, but also brightens up your kitchen.
3. 3 Store garlic in oil or vinegar. If you choose this storage method, store the garlic in the refrigerator and consume quickly to avoid bacterial growth.

Tips

• Save one or two heads of garlic from this year's harvest for planting next year.
• Large heads grow from large denticles.
• You can plant different varieties and colors of garlic.
• Garlic is a cold-resistant plant. You can plant it in the fall, leave it for the winter, and harvest it early next summer.

Warnings

• Prevent the garlic from drying out in the ground. This will cause the head to split into separate teeth.
• Do not freeze the heads of garlic. It will turn into mush and be unusable.

What do you need

• Cloves of garlic
• Fertilizers, well-rotted manure or compost
• Hay, straw, rotted grass, cut grass (mulch)
• Irrigation equipment