I recently learned, to my surprise, that according to Google Trends data compiled by AllAboutGardening.com, the most popular plant among American gardeners is…garlic.
I would have bet on the kale. Maybe beets, or beets. Perhaps Brussels sprouts. But the garlic?
So I dove into Google Trends to compare hobbyist interest in garlic to other fall-planted bulbs like tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and crocuses. Those colorful flowers would surely outdo the smelly vegetable.
No. When people used the search phrase “how to grow…”, garlic beat them all. I was so shocked that for the first time in my life I wrote the word “stupefied”.
Growing garlic is as easy as growing daffodil. It is enough to know some data before planting it.
There are two types of garlic: hard neck and soft neck. Plant the type best suited to your climate.
The hard variety is the most recommended for the northern regions, where it should be planted 6 to 8 weeks before the arrival of the cold. The head is made up of a single row of teeth around an underground stem. It is more flavorful than the soft variety, but it keeps for less time.
The soft variety is more suitable for warmer climates. The head contains several overlapping rows of smaller teeth. Due to its longer conservation, it is the variety that is usually sold in supermarkets.
Garlic plants eat a lot of food, so incorporate a generous amount of compost into the top 3 to 4 inches of soil to increase fertility. It includes a good amount of mycorrhiza to help the formation of the bulb.
Plant seeds purchased from a reputable supplier, or cloves from the largest, healthiest heads of the previous crop.
Never plant store-bought garlic because it is often treated with growth inhibitors to prevent it from sprouting on the shelf or in your refrigerator.