How to Propagate Garlic

Prepare the planting area by cultivating it with the garden spade down to a depth of approximately 4 inches. Add 3 to 4 inches of aged compost over the top of the soil, and combine the compost and the soil thoroughly with the garden spade. Rake the soil surface smooth to finish the planting area preparation.

Create 3-inch-deep rows with the hoe, spacing the rows about 12 inches apart.

Separate the cloves from the seed bulb immediately before you plant them. Use only the largest outer cloves for planting to produce the healthiest garlic plants. Use the smaller cloves for cooking.

Place the garlic cloves into the prepared rows with the pointy end of the cloves facing straight up. Ensure that each garlic clove points straight up in the soil to produce straight plants, and space the cloves 6 inches apart in the rows. Cover the cloves carefully with soil, and firm the soil gently.

Water the newly planted garlic cloves immediately after you finish planting them. Keep the soil evenly moist while the garlic grows, but stop watering about two to three weeks before you anticipate harvest.

Add about 2 inches of mulch around the growing garlic to help keep the soil moist and protect the garlic plants from cold.

Fertilize the garlic when the plants become about 6 inches high. Sprinkle 3 pounds of granular fertilizer carefully over every 100 feet of row. Keep the fertilizer about 4 inches away from the plants, and incorporate the fertilizer into the soil with the hand rake. Water the fertilizer into the soil.

Harvest the garlic when about half of the length of the stems turns dry and yellow. Loosen the soil around the bulbs with the hand rake, and pull the bulbs gently from the soil.