What is a good meal without garlic? It is one of my most favorite things to grow. It has an amazing nutritional value, is widely used for cooking in all parts of the world, they store for ages and most of all, they are so easy to grow.

Each year I harvest in mid summer, and always set aside some for planting the next season. I plant in autumn, and was a little late this year, although I just made the cut off a couple of weeks ago. I already have something to show for it!

Here they are sprouting nicely in the early winter sun.

So what do I do now? The answer is nothing! This is one of the reasons I love to grow garlic. Unlike many other summer vegetables, the winter rain we receive is enough to keep them watered. But it's the "winter snap" that is important here. This is what causes the clove of garlic you plant to multiply into a bulb of multiple cloves.

As the weather gets warmer, the tips begin to dry; this is a clear sign that they are nearing harvest. Around Christmas time (here is Australia) I will pull out a couple up to see if they are ready and then harvest the lot.

All it took this year was a ten minute investment of my time to put them into the ground ... I can't wait for the return later this year.