I started with 6" between cloves and 10-12" between rows and had good results and nice sized heads those first couple of years.
Then I got greedy and wanted to squeeze more in, so for a couple of years went to 6" between cloves and 6" between rows. I had smaller and smaller heads each year with more losses to rot.
These last two years I settled on 8" all around and am back to really good harvests of medium/large heads, with 100% of the cloves sprouting and only two-three out of the 108 I plant that don't mature well.
I grow in a raised bed with rich soil, a thick layer of shredded oak leaf mulch, full sun most of the day, and automated drip irrigation.
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