”Stop and smell the garlic! That’s all you have to do.” — William Shatner

Growing your own garlic (Allium sativum) is a great use of garden space over the winter. Garlic requires a chill period before forming new heads, and winter is the ideal chill time. Best planted between late September and mid-October and harvested early July, it is an easy crop to grow. Once harvested, it will last for months if properly dried and stored in a cool, dry environment.

Visit a local garden center to purchase garlic cloves for planting. Avoid buying grocery store garlic because it is often treated to prevent sprouting.

There are two broad categories of garlic: hardneck and softneck.

Hardneck garlic produces a hard flower stalk called a scape, which is where the name hardneck comes from. It is easy to peel, features larger, more uniform cloves, and is more winter hardy, but it has a shorter storage life. Popular varieties include Spanish Roja, German Red and Music.

Softneck garlic rarely produces a flower stalk, thus the softneck name. Softneck garlic stores well, which is why we typically find it in grocery stores, but it does not peel as easily and the cloves are generally much smaller than those of hardneck varieties. Varieties include Inchelium Red, Silver White and Lorz Italian.

Try a few different varieties of each type to see what you like best.

Garlic should be planted in full sun in moist but well-draining soil. Amend the soil with compost if necessary. Fertilize the planting area with a balanced fertilizer, meaning that the percentages of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium are close to even. Gently divide the cloves, keeping the papery skin in place, and plant each clove pointed end up 3 to 4 inches deep and 6 inches apart. Water and mulch the garlic after it is planted. Sprouts may emerge prior to cold weather, but those sprouts can tolerate the winter weather. Water as needed during autumn through mid-June. After that, allow the plants to dry out a bit

Removing scapes from hardneck varieties may help encourage larger bulb formation. The scapes can be grilled, roasted or sauteed to eat as a tasty prelude to the garlic harvest.

Harvest the garlic when the leaves start to turn brown. Using a garden fork, carefully lift each bulb out of the soil. Cure your harvested bulbs on a screen or newspaper in a cool, well-ventilated location for two to three weeks. Cut off remaining leaves, leaving a 2-inch stem and store in a cool, dry area.

Select the largest bulbs to replant in the fall.

Submit gardening questions to csumg2@elpasoco.com or call 719-520-7684. The help desk is open 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays at 17 N. Spruce St. Find us on Facebook at Colorado Master Gardeners – El Paso County.