SAN ANTONIO – Garlic is a kitchen staple, and it’s really annoying when you have to run to the store for just one clove, so let’s plant our own supply in our gardens!
In South Texas, you can plant garlic from October to December. October is usually ideal, but November works, too!
What’s excellent about garlic is you can plant the leftover cloves you bought from the grocery store. When you buy them from the store, buy the biggest bulbs and ensure the garlic is dry and still good.
Of course, you can buy native bulbs from a nursery or online, but re-using your grocery store garlic is sustainable, cheaper, and can grow just as well.
Make sure you do the following to get the best results for planting:
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Peel back and break up the blub into individual cloves but keep the skin on.
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Plant in a spot that gets lots of sun.
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Garlic likes soil that is soft and loamy and drains well. I added some compost and organic seed starter to give it a nice boost.
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You can rot your garlic if it gets too wet and doesn’t drain.
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Planting the pointy side up and the root side down is the most important step.
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Plant them about 2 inches deep. If you plant them too deep or too shallow, they won’t grow well.
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Garlic doesn’t like competition, so plant at least 4 to 6 inches apart.
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Water your garlic once to twice a week, depending on the soil’s moisture and temperature.
Garlic is a slow grower, so these won’t be ready until about June next year. But once it comes in, you’ll have enough garlic to probably get through the entire fall and summer.
Source: ksat.com
