In 2011, the Master Gardeners of York County (MGYC) began to grow different varieties of garlic as a demonstration that garlic can be grown in the Piedmont area of SC, to provide education on how to grow, harvest and store garlic, to introduce to the public varieties not available in grocery stores, and to make those varieties available for consumption or replanting. It is difficult in the South to obtain untreated garlic bulbs which may be used for planting, unless mail ordered; thus, this project provides area residents with a method to obtain locally grown garlic suitable for home growing. 

Some types of garlic (mostly softneck types) are well-suited for growing in the South. It is a fall/winter crop planted from late October through Thanksgiving and is harvested in late spring and early summer in time for growers to plant a different summer or fall crop. Once planted, garlic requires little ongoing care.

In the fall of 2011, master gardeners planted approximately 1,000 cloves of garlic in the P.A.R. garden in Fort Mill, the Clemson Extension office garden in York, and the gardens of 4 master gardeners. The varieties planted were either silverskin or artichoke softneck types: Mild French, Nootka Rose, Silver Rose, Inchelium Red, and Early Italian.  Some elephant garlic, which is not a true garlic, was also planted. About 800 bulbs (some bulbs were lost due to weather conditions) were harvested in the spring of 2012, most of which were sold and the rest kept for planting that fall. 

In the fall of 2012, about 1,500 cloves were planted, including several new varieties obtained by the growers as an additional experiment on the performance of those types.