by Francis Jock

Created on: October 27, 2010   Last Updated: May 03, 2012

Garlic is one of the most useful garden plants that you can grow. It is one that is highly regarded for its many health benefits, culinary applications, and its natural ability to thwart garden pests and disease. It has been around for a long time, as garlic is known to have been cultivated throughout central Asia over 6,000 ago. Because garlic is easy to grow, keeps well,and has many useful properties, it is an excellent choice for novice gardeners. Garlic lovers will tell you that once you've tasted your own homegrown garlic, you'll never buy garlic from the supermarket again.

There are different varieties of garlic to choose from. Elephant garlic is related to common garlic, but the bulbs are much larger. Silverskin garlic, often referred to as soft-neck garlic, stores incredibly well and is used for making those familiar garlic braids seen at the farmer's market. In fact, there are too many varieties to mention here, each with their own distinct flavor, ranging from mild to nearly horseradish hot. Knowledgeable chefs know just what type of garlic to use to make the most delicious dishes you can imagine.

Garlic grows well during the cooler spring and fall months. You can begin growing early in the season by planting garlic cloves indoors and later moving them to the patio when the nighttime temperatures begin to fall below freezing. Don't use store-bought garlic for seed, as they will not provide the same flavor or yield as garlic purchased from a catalog or seed store. Garlic grows well in most climates, and the bulbs from one harvest can be used the following season to produce another crop.

The recommended depth for planting individual garlic cloves is 2" deep and 6" apart, with the clove tip pointing up. You can plant as many garlic cloves as you wish, subject to your garden's space limitations. Each clove planted will produce one plant with a single bulb - which may in turn contain up to twenty cloves. Don’t divide the seed garlic until just before you are ready to plant them in the garden.

If you are planning a fall planting, be sure to completely mulch your garlic bed soon after the ground freezes in early winter. Garlic will survive the winter and will appear above the surface early on during the coming spring. Bigger bulbs will be produced by leaving the plants to grow and mature until the following summer.

Garlic produces the plumpest, tastiest bulbs when it grows in full sun and in deep, loamy, fertile soil. For weed control, it's best to plant

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