How to Plant and Grow Garlic

Garlic is amazingly easy to grow, and is one of the few crops that never fails me (unlike my onion fail and micro-potato harvest). I’ve grown it for several years in our backyard garden and always end up with a great harvest.

It’s a good thing, too, because we LOVE garlic. It’s a key player in my homemade pesto and is amazing in Honey-Garlic Chicken. If you have a little patch of sunny garden, give it a try! Here’s how easy it is.

Prepare your soil. I’ve grown garlic in pots, garden boxes, and directly in the soil. My best results come from planting in soil, probably because we have very hot summers and the pots and garden boxes don’t retain enough water.

We’re in California (Zone 9), so Grandpa says to plant garlic between Halloween and Thanksgiving (the earlier, the better). This year, I chose a spot between the raised beds and the birdbath in the backyard, pulled all the weeds, and mixed in a healthy dose of compost.