Planting Garlic: Step 1 Break a garlic bulb apart into individual cloves, being careful to keep the papery skins covering each clove intact. Then fill a quart jar with water and mix in 1 tablespoon of baking soda and 1 tablespoon of liquid seaweed. Soak the cloves in this mixture for 2 hours prior to planting to prevent fungal disease and encourage vigorous growth.