Starting Garlic From Cloves

You can start garlic from the bulbs you buy at your local grocery store. This is true of regular and elephant garlic. Here's how.

Starting Garlic from Cloves

Separate the cloves and let them dry on your counter for a few days, but don't peel the paper off. Prepare potting soil to which you have added sand or another loosening agent. If you are planting garlic directly into the garden and have heavy clay, liberally amend your soil to loosen it. The best time to plant is mid-spring, but in more temperate climates (no heavy freezes), you can start garlic in spring or fall.

Plant cloves, pointed side up, in loose soil about three inches deep and three inched apart. Pick a sunny spot with good drainage.

The good news is that your garlic doesn't require any special handling. The bad news is that the bulbs won't be ready to harvest until the end of NEXT summer. You'll know because the foliage will turn yellow and start to droop. When the tops have turned brown (you can help them along by breaking the stems once they've started to turn yellow, just be sure to leave them attached to the plant), remove the bulbs from the soil and allow them dry for a week. Braid the tops into a chain and store your garlic chain in a dark place. Be sure to keep enough stock to plant out next spring.

Special Notes on Growing Garlic

The young tops of garlic are edible, but test them first because they can be bitter. Grow garlic with rue to keep away Japanese beetles. The three things you need for a healthy garlic crop are a good sunny location, loose soil, and good drainage. In cool, damp climates garlic can contract fungus often referred to as white or pink rot. If your crop is affected, try planting in another location next year. Rot spores can live in the soil for years. Need to use that spot again next season? Check out this cheap and effective way to sterilize garden soil: The Green Way to Sterilize Garden Soil.

You can also grow garlic from seed, leafless flower stalks called scapes and  the round or uneven shaped bulbils growing from the plant's leaf axils.  It's all good, but takes about two years to reach juicy, chubby maturity.

Grocery Store Herbs and Vegetables Can be Grown in Your Garden

It's amazing how useful your grocery store can be as a source of herbs and vegetables for the garden. The seeds from many of your vegetables like tomatoes, eggplant, squash, cucumbers, and bell peppers can be dried and planted out in spring.

Roots like ginger can be planted directly into the soil (if they haven't been treated to retard sprouting). Fruits like cantaloupe often have viable seeds, as do other melons. Even scallions can be planted out if they have enough undamaged root left at the tip.