Planting Garlic

In this climate zone, we plant garlic in mid October, a few weeks before the ground freezes in order that the roots have time to begin to grow before winter. I decided to plant today, even though it was cold and blustery (I don't like being out in the wind), because it looked like the rest of the week wasn't going to be any better. I had already prepared the row by loosening the soil and adding compost, so all I had to do was place the cloves in a furrow and cover with earth. I had a wonderful garlic crop this year, harvested in early August; I chose the largest bulbs and broke them into cloves, which I planted about 4 or 5 inches apart in the row. Each clove will develop into a full bulb of garlic, another of those miracles of growth which stun me when I stop to think about them.