Weston's Mark Cox shares tips on how to plant garlic

Our regular column, Out in the Garden, is focussing on garlic this week.

I fear that I have reached a significant milestone in my life this week. It is a milestone that I have tried to ignore for several months, unfortunately despite my best efforts time has caught up with me.

Having made the switch from BBC Radio 1 to Radio 2 a decade ago I’ve now had to accept that I can no longer read the text on my phone and, consequently, I’ve been forced to increase the font size to absolutely massive.

I have to ensure now that when I’m texting or reading emails on my phone that I do so whilst indoors for fear of overflying aircraft being able to view my messages. I’m also very conscious of when the international space station passes overhead; I don’t won’t mission control to know that my DPD delivery of Garlic bulbs will be delivered between 11.47 and 12.47.

To make matters worse I now have to use the zoom function on my phone’s camera in order to read certain planting instructions just like to ones on the back of my new packet of garlic bulbs, hmmm.

The one ‘getting old change’ that I’m really dreading is when I’ve got more hair coming out of my ears than on the top of my head, just like my uncle Bob. Why do we need hairy ears?

Anyhow the time is now 10.18 and the international space station has already passed over so I know if anyone should text me it’s safe to read the message whilst I’m planting my garlic bulbs.

Just as a side note there are two types of garlic bulbs called Softneck and Hardneck. Softneck is the variety that you are more than likely to be buying in the supermarkets as they are generally grown in warmer climes and produce a large number of cloves per bulb. Hardneck bulbs on the other hand produce fewer cloves per bulb but are better suited to our slightly cooler climate. That said Hardneck varieties won’t do well if planted in a part of the garden which tends to stay wet in the winter.

You may, just like I did, need to prepare the soil into which you’re going to plant your garlic. Just make sure that you remove any weed and the remains of any other crops that had previously grown in that planting bed. I like to mix into the soil well-rotted farmyard manure which I dig into the soil with a garden fork. With the tines of the fork I break up any large clods of soil.

Using a rake smooth the surface of the soil, you’re trying to make the soil as level as possible.

If you have a dibber make a hole deep enough for the top of the bulb which is the pointy end to be about 2.5cm or an inch below the surface of the soil.

Your cloves should be spaced around 15cm apart and there should be a gap of 12 inches/30cm between rows.

Now our feathered friends, which I have a lot of affection for, do tend to have a soft spot for garlic bulbs and will endeavour to pull them out of the soil at every opportunity if left unprotected.

I find it best to lay fleece over the plants until the shoots from the top of the cloves have reached around 2 inches/5cm in height.

Once they are at this height you can then to leave them under a cloche to protect them from the worst of the cold winter temperatures.

The care that you take now will pay dividends. In the spring the protection you’ve given the plants now will have encouraged really strong root growth which, is essential for a good crop of garlic at harvest time.