So if you have either of those types of soil, it is wise to spend time improving it with compost or organic matter. Garlic will grow best in a ph range of 6.2 to 6.8. Take the whole head of seed garlic and very carefully break it apart without bruising the cloves or damaging the root end or the growing tips. The individual cloves are planted to the depth of about 2 times their size in well-drained soil of good tilth. Pat the soil to firm it up.
Some growers do mulch their garlic at the time of planting in the fall.
The mulch is applied after the weather turns cold and the mulch is removed as early as possible in the springtime. The downside is that if the mulch is frozen to the ground it is difficult to remove it in time for the soil to start warming up as early as unmulched soil. Unmulched ground is subject to alternate freezing and thawing which can heave the garlic seed out of the ground. However, unmulched soil warms up more quickly than mulched soil giving plants a longer growing season in which to mature. Straw is the mulch of choice for most growers.