Garlic Growing Tips: How to Grow Garlic

Garlic belongs to the allium family that also includes onions, leeks and chives. Garlic has its origin in Southwestern Asia. It is known for its culinary and medicinal uses. It is one of the popular spices, used in a variety of food recipes as a flavoring. Garlic is a rich source of phosphorous, potassium, selenium, vitamin A and C and numerous amino acids. Due to its antifungal and antibacterial properties, garlic offers a number of health benefits. It is one of the most effective home remedies for the treatment and prevention of various ailments like high blood pressure and heart disease.

Garlic is a bulbous perennial plant with small white flowers and bulbils. Its leaves are flat, narrow and erect with a crease. The underground bulb comprises groups of white or purple scales, which is known as a 'clove'. The shape, size and flavor of the bulb varies depending upon the variety. There are several different varieties of garlic such as hardneck garlic with subcategories, rocambole, purple striped and porcelain garlic and softneck garlic with subcategories, artichoke and silverskins. Most varieties grow upto 12-18 inches in height.

How to Grow Garlic

You must be wondering how to grow garlic in your home garden. Garlic is much easier to grow in the garden. The peculiar feature of garlic is that it is pest and disease resistant. For beginners in gardening or for those having a limited amount of space in the garden, garlic is the right choice. Garlic can be a wonderful companion crop for roses and other shrubs. It is also known to repel most insect and bugs in the garden.

Fall is the best season to plant garlic. Those who live in the warm southern climate should plant garlic during late winter or early spring, and those who live in the cool northern climate can plant in the fall.

There are no specific soil requirements for growing garlic. However, garlic is best grown in loose, well-drained and fertile soil with plenty of organic material. You can make the soil more fertile by adding organic nitrogen fertilizers. The optimum pH of the soil for garlic planting is between 6.0 and 7.0.

Garlic Growing Tips

Growing garlic in your garden doesn't require much efforts. The only thing is that you should be watchful about its proper maintenance and growth. Garlic plant is grown from the individual cloves. Always select a good variety of garlic from a reputed nursery.

Select a location in the garden, where the plant is exposed to plenty of sunlight. Before planting, loosen the soil and dig to a depth of 8-12 inches to prepare a bed for planting. Add plenty of organic nitrogen fertilizers to ensure good fertility, moisture retention and drainage of the soil. Make sure that all the weeds are removed from the bed.

Break apart each garlic bulb into individual cloves. Select only larger, unpeeled cloves for planting. The cloves should be planted about an inch or two inches under the ground surface in the upright position. You should plant the individual cloves approximately 4 inches apart. Each row of cloves should be about 18 inches apart. After planting, water the cloves.

When the green tips start to emerge, composting of the soil is very necessary. Place organic fertilizers about 2 inches away from the garlic clove row and let it mix into the soil. Garlic plants require an inch of water every week. Weed control and pest control are very essential steps in growing garlic. If any flower stalks develop, cut them back to ensure larger bulbs. This helps the plant to utilize its energy for bulb formation instead of seed production.

A garlic plant takes about 8 months to grow and mature. When the leaves become yellow and fall over, pull the whole plant out of the soil and remove the garlic bulbs. Allow them to dry in a well-ventilated area. You can store braided garlic for several months in a dry and cool place.

With these useful garlic growing tips, I am sure you can easily grow this wonderful herb on your own. By maintaining proper care and attention, you can get a good yield of garlic and enjoy its culinary and medicinal benefits.