How to Plant Garlic as a Perennial

Choose a garden location that receives at least eight hours of sunlight daily. Also check to see if this location's soil is sandy or loam in composition and has excellent drainage. If not, look for another garden spot or create raised beds with ideal soil and drainage fields.

Spend extra time creating the ideal soil environment for garlic that is to be grown as a perennial--left in the soil year round. Garlic appreciates a crumbly and porous (friable) soil that is rich in organic matter like compost and well-rotted manure. Dig the soil to a depth of 12 inches and incorporate organic matter throughout; add coarse sand to help make the soil more friable. Break up any clumps of soil with the back of the garden shovel blade.

Plant segments of the garlic bulb (each is known as a clove) in the amended garden soil at a depth of 1-inch according to "Sunset Western Garden Book." Make sure to orient the clove's pointed end upwards in the planting hole or furrow. Space cloves 6 to 15 inches apart.

Allow the cloves to sprout foliage and grow according to the local climate conditions in your area. In mild winter regions the leaves remain over winter and really increase growth once spring arrives. In cold winter areas, the cloves often create roots and remain dormant over winter and then sprout their leaves in the warmth of spring. Expect the garlic plants' foliage to naturally yellow and wither away in fall. If grown as an annual, this would be the time gardeners would dig up all bulbs for harvest and storage indoors.

Water the garlic plants as needed across the year, supplementing natural rainfall. Garlic does not tolerate drought well. Sprinkle enough water on the bed to keep the soil moist, but never creating a waterlogged condition. Consider letting the garden soil get a bit drier in winter when temperatures are cold and little foliage growth is happening, but not so dry as to cause the leaves to prematurely yellow.

Selectively harvest garlic bulbs in fall to suit your culinary needs by digging up various clumps with a potato fork or garden shovel (as compared to simply pulling at the withering foliage).

Leave some clumps of garlic bulbs in the soil in the garden to re-sprout once again in fall or next spring as your local climate dictates. Digging up clumps just to break up the bulbs into smaller clusters of cloves for immediate re-planting is advisable. Each clove grows and produces more clusters of cloves (the bulb). If there's inadequate space, the cloves do not produce robust bulbs. Moreover, it's more difficult and inefficient to incorporate fresh organic matter to a bed of bulbs that is not dug up occasionally.