Garlic or is it?

While out in the garden after the brief rain we got here in Sacramento, I noticed that the garlic I had in the containers were drooping over and dying, so I decided, out of curiosity, to see what had happened to them.

Now, before I continue, let me give you a background story on the garlic. Last year in summer, my brother-in-law's grandfather gave me some garlic that he grew in his garden. They were pretty small but not too bad, so I figured I would try to grow some more garlic as an experiment. I stuck those cloves in the ground and watched them sprout and then grow throughout winter. In spring, I decided to check up on them so I poked my finger in the dirt and saw that the clove was still just a clove. I left them alone and they have been "growing" since then. I have harvested a few since then and none of them had formed cloves, but rather looked like small onion bulbs and they tasted quite delicious.


After noticing the plant dry out and fall over, I assumed that it was done and pulled it out. As you can see, the garlic had formed cloves but they were quite puny. I laughed as I opened the bulb and found 4 small cloves. It was also exciting as this was the first time I grew garlic and now, I can assume that I can grow them. So next season, I will be ordering some hard neck garlic to grow. The ones I just pulled up are soft necks.