How to grow your own garlic

I love being able to know where my produce comes from, and there is no better way than to grow it in your own backyard! One simple thing to grow in a small bed or even a container is garlic. All you need to get started is a clove of garlic from your grocery store. If you would like to grow organic garlic, then start with organic garlic.

Break the clove up into individual segments. 

Each segment will eventually grow into an entire clove of garlic. Keep the paper-like covering on the garlic segments, but peel back the covering from the very top of each so that the leaves can grow more easily.

Fold a paper towel in half length-wise and line up the garlic segments with the tops pointing up. Fold the bottom of the paper towel up to the top to create a little pocket. 

Roll up the paper towel and place it in a shallow glass with the tops facing up. Add just enough water to keep the paper towel wet without creating a puddle in the bottom of the glass.

After just a few days you will begin to see green shoots growing from the tops of each piece of garlic. In a few more days white roots will begin to grow through the paper towel to the bottom of the glass.

Then you are ready to plant! Bury each of the garlic deep enough to cover the entire garlic piece with the leaves sticking up. Plant the segments 6 inches apart in early fall or spring, and most varieties mature after 90 days. 

Happy planting and happy eating! Anyone have a favorite recipe using garlic???