How to Grow GarlicGrowing garlic  When you want to know how to grow garlic, you should familiarize yourself with the varieties first.There are more than 600 cultivated sub-varieties of garlic in existence.Garlic VarietiesIt originally came from central Asia where the garlic thrived through cold winters and damp springs. Some varieties of garlic prefer this climate and others are suited to warmer climates Garlic can be divided into hardneck and softneck varieties. Hardneck garlic has fewer cloves than softneck and the cloves are centered around a stalk. Hardneck garlic comes in Purple Stripe, Porcelain and Rocambole varieties. Softneck garlic doesn't mind warm climates. The two most common types of softneck garlic are Silverskins and Artichoke. When learning how to grow garlic, you will be pleased to know that there are not many plants easier to grow than this! How to Plant Garlic You need to plant individual garlic cloves with their bulb. Use well-drained soil with a pH between 6 and 7. Mix plenty of organic matter into the soil. Plant the biggest cloves you have in order to grow the biggest bulbs. Plant the cloves 2 or 3 inches below the surface of the soil and space them 6 inches apart. You should plant them pointed end up. Plant the garlic in the fall. When the soil temperature has cool to 60ºF the garlic clove roots will begin germination. If the ground might freeze, you should add a few inches of mulch. Straw makes good mulch for garlic. How to Harvest Garlic You need to dig the garlic out of the ground rather than pulling it because the roots are several inches long and quite deep. When the lower leaves start to turn brown, it is harvest time. Knowing how to grow garlic involves some guesswork as to the right time to harvest but if you keep an eye on your plants, they should be fine. You can dig out one bulb and slice it in half. If the cloves are bursting out of the skins, you can harvest the rest. If you delay harvesting, the bursting cloves will leave the garlic open to disease and make it impossible to store. If you are trying several varieties, artichoke garlic matures first, the Romamboles, then Purple Stripes and Porcelains and then Silverskins. How to Store Garlic Clean away any soil on the bulbs and let them dry for a month in a dry shady spot outdoors or a well-ventilated room. When the roots and tops are dry, you can trim them off. Remove the outer skins but don't expose the cloves. Garlic keeps best between 32º and 40ºF. Softneck garlic can keep for up to 8 months. Hardneck varieties keep for a couple of months, although if you keep them at 32ºF they can last for up to 7 months.
Garlic Growing Problems Garlic doesn't tend to attract pests if you use good quality seed cloves. The only thing to watch out for are rodents including gophers. Saving Garlic Seed Cloves If you want to save garlic seed cloves, put aside some good quality bulbs to plant the next season. They should be stored at room temperature and with about 70% humidity. How to grow garlic, how to store it and how to save seed cloves are very simple to do and if you are a beginner gardener, garlic is a nice thing to try growing first.
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