Ok, this is fairly simple, but it always surprises me how many people don’t know this, and also how many people don’t do it…
Garlic is one of the easiest crops to grow, as long as they don’t sit in soggy, wet ground, they rarely have any problems. Garlic does take a fair while to grow, but this is countered by the fact you can grow a year’s worth of garlic in around a meter square. Also once cropped and dried, garlic will keep for up to ten months.
Literally a dollar or two, and 10 minutes planting once a year, will provide a whole year’s worth of garlic! Also, you’ll never need to re-buy garlic bulbs to plant, as you can replant some of last years crop.
If possible, I recommend that you purchase organic garlic bulbs (to plant) from the market or supermarket. If you can’t afford to buy organic garlic, don’t beat yourself up. Just get the regular garlic you can afford. We have had great success growing with cheap 50-cent garlic bulbs from the supermarket.
How To Grow Garlic With Garlic From The Supermarket
- Take one garlic bulb and pull off all the individual cloves. Each one of these cloves will grow into a whole new garlic bulb!
- Take the separated cloves out to the garden, to where you will be planting them. Make a hole in the soil with your finger that is just a tiny bit deeper than the garlic clove is high.
- Pop a garlic clove into the hole, with the pointy end of the clove pointing upwards. This is very important! If you plant the garlic cloves with the pointed ends down, they will not grow.
- Now just pinch the soil in around the clove and firm in a bit. When done the top of the clove should be just below the surface of the soil.
- Now repeat the process, but leave a space of around 10 cm (4 inches) between each planted garlic clove.
- Water the garlic well, and now just wait for it to do its thing!
The best time to plant garlic is October/November, but you can also plant in the Spring. In fact, we have planted garlic at various different times and it usually grows pretty well, as you can pull and use garlic at any stage of its development really.
Additionally, if you ever find some store-bought garlic is starting to sprout in the cupboard, don’t throw it away, try to plant it up and see what happens…
