When to plant garlic, the short answer is anytime from mid September to the end of November. However it’s easier to plant anything if the soil is not frozen so the earlier the better. Traditionally garlic was planted on the 31st of October and harvested on the 31st of July but this is only a guide and you will see when the garlic needs lifting as the leaves will yellow and die back.
Garlic needs ten days of frost to form cloves so don’t worry if it snows or we have a particularly bad winter as this is actually helping the bulbs to form.
To plant garlic separate the cloves from the bulb and plant the individual cloves in well drained soil about four inches apart with the pointy bit just above the soil. Water in dry periods and keep the weeds down, but other wise just leave it alone. If you have never grown your own garlic give it a go the flavour is amazing and the effort needed to grow it is minimal.
To store garlic it needs to be dried to do this just hang it in a greenhouse or airing cupboard until the skin hardens you’ll see what I mean’ then just use it as you want. Last year I ran out of garlic in January so I know it stores well.
I only ever plant supermarket bought garlic and I have never had any problems with it, but you can buy specially grown bulbs from seed companies if you prefer.