Q: I want to know the requirements of garlic. I planted two kinds last year and have let it winter over to gather in the spring or early summer. I don’t think it has what it wants since the Italian garlic I dug up looked like little spring onions.

A: Garlic needs extremely well drained soil and bright sunshine. I added lots of gritty sand to the loamy soil in a raised bed and have had good success with my garlic. You could try growing it in a deep container filled with cactus mix potting soil. It is the lengthening days of spring that cause cloves to swell so it is not surprising that the ones you dug don’t look quite right in late winter. Wait to harvest until fifty percent of the leaves are yellow usually in June.

Growing Garlic in Georgia