How to protect garlic bulbs over the winter?

Question

I'm about to plant garlic bulbs in a raised bed, and I'm located in hardiness zone 7. It's fall now—what do I need to do to protect them over the winter?

Answer 1

Assuming that the garlic don't sprout before the ground freezes, you don't have to do anything; the bulbs are perfectly hardy on their own. I'm in zone 5 and have never had issues with frost heave because the bulbs have rooted before the ground freezes. The raised bed really should not be an issue - garlic is hardy to at least zone 4, if not zone 3.

If the bulbs do sprout during the late fall or early winter, you're in such a warm zone (compared to me, at least) that you may get some frost-nipping on the leaves, but this won't affect the growth or size of the bulbs. If you still want to be on the safe side, though, you can always cover the sprouted leaves with a loose mulch - dry oak leaves, or even pine boughs (from a discarded Christmas tree). I don't like using straw or hay because rodents tend to like living in them and can damage or eat the bulbs.