Of course, living in Gilroy, California, which is the Garlic Capital of the World where more than 130,000 people attend our famous Garlic Festival each year, I'm a little prejudiced.
Ah, but home gardeners may not know that garlic is one of the easiest specimens to grow on your own. All you need is what we already have locally: plenty of sun and a long growing season. Garlic can be planted anytime between now through December. A long growing season throughout winter is vital. Garlic planted this fall or winter won't be ready for harvest until next summer.
The garlic bulb prefers well-drained, but not necessarily rich soil, in a sunny spot of the garden. Raised beds are ideal so that water drains quickly and the soil warms earlier in the spring. However, if the soil is too fertile, you will end up with lush leaf growth and smaller bulbs.
You may already be familiar with some of the lore surrounding garlic. But truth be told, garlic makes a great companion crop in that it will repel many garden insects and diseases. Planted next to roses, garlic is known to repel aphids; next to cabbages and the imported cabbageworm will be nil. Many home gardeners mix crushed garlic with water, resulting in a liquid spray that will control plant diseases, such as powdery mildew and brown rot.
When planting garlic, it is important that you do not plant the entire garlic bulb whole. Instead, you'll need to break apart each bulb of garlic into individual cloves, trying to keep as much skin on the cloves as possible. Next, simply plant each clove with its pointy side up about two inches deep and six inches apart. Do not fertilize, but water after planting.
Garlic is very drought-tolerant and does not require much water; once a week should be enough. In fact, when the tops turn yellow in early summer, stop watering completely. This stops garlic plants from producing new leaving and instead has its energy focus on forming bulbs. In order to form cloves, garlic must be exposed to temperatures below 41 degrees. That is why it's vital that you don't plant until late summer or even late fall.
Come spring, the green tips will start to poke out of the soil. You can side-dress with a high nitrogen fertilizer, such as blood meal. Wait until the leafy tops fall over to harvest. Then, simply lift out with a garden fork and lay the bulbs down to air dry. You may also air-dry bulbs by cutting off most of the tops and roots, and storing in a cool, well-ventilated place out of direct sunlight.
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