I'm new to the grdening world and a friend said to grow garlic by putting the bulb in soil. I did and now I've read that you only use cloves but they are sprouting and are at least 2 inches tall. what can I do to them and can I use for cooking? HELP

Garlic you break the bulb into its individual cloves, plant with about 1 1/2 inch space between - larger for your larger varieties. Garlic is a slow grower, least ways in my garden. I find that if I leave them in the ground until late summer early fall that I get the best sized bulbs.

Garlic from the store (and onions) are relatively untouched when it comes to hybridization, unlike other produce these tend to have true offspring.

Now you planted the whole bulb, and the sprouts are at 2" - it’s still not too late to dig them up and carefully break the bulb down into its cloves. Try not to break off too many roots, replant 1 1/2 inches apart, bury the stalk half way (about an inch) tap the soil in snuggly but not hard - in other words just pat it gently.

Keep the bulbs well watered for a week; they should carry the shock of this treatment rather well. Then water weekly or when the soil ½ inch deep is dry.

When your stalks get to about 3" tall mulch around them with grass clippings about an inch deep. Garlic and onions do not spread out greens, thus the mulch will help protect the roots and cut down on the weeding. Mulch will also hold moisture in the soil and will decompose to feed the garlic.

When the stalks begin to turn brown (late summer) you can dig them up. I hang my garlic bulbs first individually for a few days until the bulb turns dry and papery. Then I brush off all the lose dirt, a few flakes of the papery covering will fall off, trim off the roots with scissors to the bulb (not through the bulb) then braid the stalks together, hang it up – decorative and useful

To use them, snip off a bulb, break, peel and chop, grate, or press as your recipe calls. You can keep garlic like that for two years and still use it – if the place you hang it is dry and there is enough airflow to prevent mold/mildew.

Garlic is also very, very easy to dry for powders and granulated.

Thinly slice the clove, lay them out on a dry paper towel, turn every day until crisp (It takes about 2 weeks in a dry climate) then either chop, or grind. Conversely, you can dry them in a pilot lit oven by laying them out on a paper towel on a cookie sheet. Put them in the over and keep the door ajar – I use an oven mitt, close the door on that. This allows the extra moisture to escape.