How to Separate Garlic Cloves for Planting
A perennial, garlic (Allium sativum) belongs to the onion family. The plant grows from a bulb. The bulb is comprised of approximately 12 to 20 individual cloves clustered together and encased in a thin, white skin that provides protection. When the bulb is divided into individual cloves, each clove has the ability to produce one garlic plant. Once planted the clove begins to grow into a bulb in diameter and size it and it produces a cluster of surrounding cloves. Three types of garlic exist; stiff neck (A. sativum var. ophioscorodon), soft neck (A. Allium sativum) and elephant (A. ampeloprasum). Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Select a planting location during the fall that is located in full sunlight. Work compost or aged manure into the soil until it feels crumbly to the touch.
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Dig a trench that is approximately 4 inches deep. Plant the garlic cloves three to four weeks before the first expected hard frost in the fall.
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Divide the garlic bulbs into individual cloves two days prior to planting. Gently pry the bulb apart with your hands.
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Remove the large outer cloves first by prying them away from the inner cloves. The larger cloves produce a larger, healthier garlic plant when planted. Discard the tiny inner cloves because they only grow a small, weak plant.
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Look closely at each clove. Discard any cloves that appear soft or have spotting.
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Set the cloves aside on a plate until planting. Plant each clove in the trench with the pointed end skyward. Space the cloves 3 to 5 inches apart. Push the soil around the and over the cloves so they sit at a depth of 4 inches. Firm the soil over the top of the cloves.
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Mulch the planting site with straw, leaf debris or pine needles after the ground freezes. Applying mulch will help prevent the soil from heaving during the winter months, offer protection from excessively cold weather and prevent weed growth.
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Tips & Warnings
Garlic does not grow well in heavy clay soil.
Consider purchasing locally grown garlic for the best planting success. Supermarket garlic often comes from warm locations and does not do well when planted outside its region.
Garlic prefers a soil pH of 6.2 to 7.0.
Elephant garlic actually belongs to the leek family, but most consider it garlic.
Garlic can be planted in the spring months but requires a period of 40 degree Fahrenheit cold stratification to successfully grow. Refrigerate garlic cloves for two months prior to planting in the spring.
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