Chelle--it is getting to be time to plant garlic in our zone. I'm planting mine this week (just because it works best for my schedule), but any time in the next week or two will be fine. I spread about 1" of compost over my garlic bed (raised bed) and will mix in a little organic fertilizer before planting. Once we've had a light frost, I'll mulch with straw.
I always follow the instructions I originally got from Gourmet Garlic Gardens. The night before, I separate the cloves, and soak them in a baking soda/seaweed mix (1 heaping TBSP of baking soda and 1 TBSP of seaweed fertilizer in a gallon of water). Right before planting, I will drain that mix, and soak the cloves in alcohol for 5 minutes before planting. I've never had any problems with diseases in my garlic, so I'm afraid to NOT do it this way.
I'd love to hear what everyone else does when planting garlic.
