It’s bulb-planting time and many of my gardening friends are busy getting their tulips, daffodils and hyacinths in the ground. What about garlic, I ask? It’s a bulb. And one many of us buy and use regularly.

Garlic (Allium sativum) is a cool season crop and a perennial. It’s among the oldest known foods ever cultivated. A member of the lily family, thought to have been first discovered in Asia. The ancient Egyptians regarded garlic highly as a source of strength. The Chinese began using it about 4000 B.C. For those of a superstitious nature, it was worn to ward off the “evil eye”.

I recently learned that garlic ranked number two for highest grossing herbal supplement behind ginkgo biloba. It’s been known to give our body’s natural enzymes a boost by lowering our cholesterol and blood pressure with the bonus of fending off potential carcinogens. So if we appreciate its value with regards to our health, then why aren’t we planting more of it in our gardens?

Garlic cloves can be planted in our zone well into December if the earth is still soft enough for digging. It prefers rich, well-drained soil amended with lots of organic matter and a pH range of 5.5 to 6.8. Garlic needs full sun and little fertilizer.

Simply break bulbs up into cloves and plant them, pointed end up, one to two inches deep, two to six inches apart for intensive spacing. Cover with plenty of leaves or leaf mold if you have it. You may want to mark where you’ve planted, so as not to disturb them in the spring. Now let them go to sleep for the winter.

Come spring garlic likes to be weed free and enjoys plenty of water. Scapes are ready in the spring and garlic bulbs will be ready to harvest in 90 to 100 days. When its leaves begin to droop and turn yellow, it’s harvest time. I like to fold over their leaves and let rest for 3-5 days. I then dig them up, remove their tops and roots and dry in a cool, dark or shady spot.

Easy enough? The only thing left to decide is what kind of garlic and where in your garden is a good spot.

Let’s start with where in your garden. Its small size makes it easy to drop into most open spaces in your garden beds.

If you have an existing vegetable garden, a row or two would do fine next to other perennial plants like chives, rhubarb or asparagus. Another consideration would be near herbs like oregano, sage or lavender.

Garlic is an excellent companion crop due to its insect repellant properties. Think about next years planting scheme and consider planting garlic near vegetables that have been troubled by pesky insects like aphids, cabbageworms, Japanese beetles and root maggots. If you’re interested in an organic garden, garlic provides a natural fungicide/pesticide like no other. I like to scatter them throughout my garden for just this purpose.

Now consider what type of garlic to plant. You’ll need to decide how you’ll be using your garlic. Cooking, preserving or as a companion crop. Do you prefer mild garlic, would you like to enjoy scapes, would you like whole bulbs for baking?

Whether you plant hardneck or softneck garlic, don’t be afraid to experiment. There is no problem in using the garlic you purchase in your grocery store – these are most likely softneck varieties and as the name suggests will not produce a scape due to its “soft necks”. But there are many varieties on the market and the flavors are as diverse as their names. You may want to try Siberian, Spanish Roja or Chesnok, Georgia Crystal and Thai Fire.

If you really want scapes, be sure to go with a hardneck variety. If you haven’t tried them they are a wonderful springtime treat. Consider growing for the adventure and surprise of it.

The scapes arrive late spring before the green garlic is too woody and the fresh garlic is ready to harvest. The garlic plant will produce curvaceous flowering tops that must be removed to redirect the energy of the plant back down into the bulb. This will encourage the largest cloves to form. Scapes have the feel and appearance of early asparagus spears. They taste both milder and sweeter than garlic and are delicious and crispy when roasted. I use them like I would scallions. They can be eaten raw or cooked.

Giant/Elephant garlic is a noteworthy variety with a delicate flavor and massive bulbs the size of a fist. Its taste is reminiscent of leeks and produces lovely scapes. It is perfect for baking whole.

My Calabrian family loved to grow garlic for the cloves, so softneck varieties sufficed. They prized each paper thin bulblet for its intense essence that would be showcased in many of our preserved vegetables. I can remember my mom, grandmother and aunts preserving eggplant, celery and green tomatoes under oil and garlic. Boiled in wine vinegar, heavily salted and covered in olive oil. We called this sott’ olio. We always had jars in the cupboard or refrigerator. You may have tried these types of vegetables as antipasti at your favorite Italian restaurant, but growing up in my home, it was a winter snack that I would eat with crusty bread.

Oh the thought of it! I think I’ll head out to the garden to plant some garlic bulbs!

Patricia Bailey is the Community Outreach Horticulturist at Green Animals Topiary Garden in Portsmouth, where she has managed the Vegetable Garden since 2013. Having a deep appreciation for the quality of life a good garden can bring to those in need, she spearheads school programs, mentors young people and provides local charities with fresh organic vegetables.