Can you share some garlic planting tips? It will be my first time and I will use a 5 gal. bucket or two. Is it better to buy the bulbs from a nursery or can you use store bought garlic and just plant the individual cloves?
I use store-bought. The reason they say not to is by suggestion that certain chemicals are used in store-bought that inhibit your crop production. Since you are peeling the individual cloves I would think that is hardly a consideration. The goal is to find nice big bulbs so that you can plant nice big cloves. The other reason they say not to buy store-bought is to make money!
My reminder to plant garlic is Halloween.
I plant all my left over garlic from the store around Sept. October each year, and cover it with a row cover that lets in 80% or more sunlight and rain. Most of it grows fine that way(very slow during winter). I do cover it more when it gets to freezing, and take the cover off entirely when there is the occasional nice sun shiny day.
I usually plant them in the space where I grew my tomatoes. When they mature in May to 1st of June, I harvest them and plant bush beans in that space.
I also grow some garlic that I order for fall delivery. Garlic is pretty simple. Plant about 2” deep and 16 clove per sq. foot. My soil prep is a good dose of compost, and some bone meal (follow package directions)for the phosphorus.
I don’t grow a lot of garlic, since I have limited space, but it’s so easy, I have thought about growing it to sell.LOL