Growing Garlic on Your Own: Planting, Harvesting, and Health Benefits

Garlic is not hard to grow and there are a lot of benefits of growing it. Fresh garlic cloves can make any dinner taste better, but there are also health benefits to garlic. Anybody can grow garlic and see multiple benefits in their lives. In this article you’ll learn how to plant, harvest, and see the benefits of growing garlic.

What to Know About Growing Garlic

Planting

Garlic is a lot like a tulip. It needs to be planted before Winter and be allowed to grow all Winter long. Plant your garlic a month before the first frost. This will ensure that the garlic has a strong root system before the freezing temperatures set in. Dig a small trench, about 6-8 inches wide and plant your garlic at least 3 inches apart. Bury your garlic so that there is about 2 inches of soil on top. You do not need to water the plant in the Winter because it hasn’t started its growing season yet. Once the snow melts the garlic begins to grow rapidly. Make sure your garlic gets plenty of water when the temperature increases and it starts to grow. Your garlic should be ready to harvest around July or August. 

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Harvesting

Your garlic will start to have green shoots that sprout from the top of it. These are called scapes. You won’t see these scapes until about April. They’ll continue to grow, then turn yellow when it is time to harvest the garlic. The scapes will be green and curled over, like a candy cane, as they grow. When the scapes straighten up and turn yellow, it is time to harvest. The seed pod will also open at the bottom of the scape, telling you it is time to harvest the garlic. Make sure that you dig up the garlic instead of pulling on the scape. Pulling on the scape can cause the garlic to break off underground, making it harder to harvest. 

Health Benefits of Garlic

Garlic has a lot of health benefits. It is highly nutritious and doesn’t have a lot of calories so eating it gives you a lot of nutrients. Besides having a great taste, it can also help your immune system. Taking garlic can reduce the number of colds you have by 63%. The length of a cold can also be reduced by 70%, from 5 days to 1.5 days. Garlic can actively reduce blood pressure. Taking a large dose of garlic a day can be just as effective as medication in some cases. Garlic also has antioxidants that may prevent Alzheimer’s and dementia. 

Summing Up

Garlic really isn’t hard to grow. You plant it, leave it alone for a couple of months and let it do its thing. Then in the Spring you water it, then in the Summer you harvest it. It doesn’t require a lot of care and attention and it’ll take care of itself. Everyone should be growing garlic. If the delicious flavor of garlic isn’t enough to convince you to grow it, maybe the health benefits are. It kills the common cold and flu, it reduces high blood pressure, and can prevent Alzheimer’s and dementia. This truly is a superfood! Try growing garlic and see how it can benefit your life.

Image Source: Pixabay