Classical writers such as Homer, Chaucer, and Shakespeare mention garlic, and it was present in the diets of early Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians. Description Garlic has long, flat, solid leaves and a culinary bulb. Its grayish leaves are about 12 inches long and up to an inch wide. Each bulb multiplies during the growing season, producing highly flavored segments called cloves. Each segment as well as the 4 to 15 cloves comprising a bulb is wrapped in a white papery sheath.
Some varieties have a reddish sheath.
Pests and disease None noted. Cultivation Spring is the best time to grow garlic. Break bulblets apart and plant each clove, root-end downward, about 6 inches apart and 2 inches deep in cultivated soil. Cover each drill with soil and water well. Spear-like leaves soon will appear, followed by flower stalks.