Garlic is an essential ingredient in flavoring much of the southwestern food we enjoy - almost a basic necessity. It has also been used medicinally for thousands of years for its purported health benefits.

When eaten, the strong odor of garlic may discourage "close" friends but when planted in the garden, the smell also repels insects and worms which otherwise may move in and take over.

Garlic is quite simple to grow if your garden bed has been prepared with a loose mixture of soil and sand allowing the bulb to expand. When planting, also consider good drainage because the bulbs will rot if too much moisture accumulates.

You may order garlic through catalog companies or from local nursery suppliers, or you may just use cloves purchased from the grocery store. October is the month to place the segments of bulb into the soil about 10 inches apart and 1 inch deep. Once the conditions of good soil, drainage, and adequate moisture are applied, no other attention is required from the gardener until the following May or June. Then the tips begin to turn brown and it is time to stop watering and knock the stocks over. Leave the stocks lie until they are completely dry and then dig up the bulbs and let them dry for two or three weeks. The garlic can then be braided together by the stalks and hung on the porch next to the red chili ready for you to retrieve when cooking southwest. Go ahead - enjoy it - it's good for you!