Planting garlic
Do you love garlic in your meals? Why not grow it in your own garden! Planting garlic is easy and fun. Garlic is probably one of the easiest crops to grow, with fast and delicious results! Get endless amounts of garlic, you can eat them all yourself or gift them to your friends and family.
Materials needed for planting garlic cloves
Like said before, growing garlic is easy. You can even make a fun activity out of it, by planting garlic with kids. They will love seeing something grow that they planted themselves. All you need for planting garlic is:
- Garlic bulbs for planting;
- A hand trowel;
- A bit of fertilizer.
How to plant garlic in your own garden
Before we start planting, it is important to know when to plant garlic. Plant garlic in late fall, approximately six weeks before the first frost date. With your hand trowel, loosen the soil where you want to plant your garlic and add fertilizer. Next, dig a hole or a trench, about 4 inches (ca. 10 cm) deep. Now, prepare your garlic bulbs for planting, by breaking up the heads in individual cloves. During this process, try to keep as much of the paper-like skins intact as possible, do not peel them off! Plant the individual cloves in the soil, with the pointed tip facing upward. Cover up the garlic with the soil you dug out for the hole and water the patch. If you want, you can cover the soil with straw to keep the soil warm in case of early frost.
Harvesting your garlic
Garlic bulbs grow underground and above it, your garlic plant will grow. These can even bloom into a pretty garlic flower. After enjoying the look of your garlic plant all spring, the garlic bulbs are usually ready for harvest at the end of July. When the leaves of your plant are starting to turn yellow, it is time to harvest your garlic! All you need to do now is dry the bulbs and cut off any parts that are not necessary for eating the crop. Store your garlic bulbs in a dark and dry place until you decide to cook up a delicious meal with them!
