First time growing garlic here in zone 8b(TX) and it has been a source of much frustration! I planted softneck cloves back in early November in a new raised bed with about 5 inches deep of a variety of bagged composts and garden soils (as deep as I could afford to go at the time). Planted them about an inch deep and covered with a few inches of leaves. They grew great but the stems got really thick, much thicker than I've seen in pictures. Due to the compost breaking down, the entire bulb area was now above the soil line and not forming any bulb, the stem just got thicker. The last few weeks they have started lots of new stalk growth from the middle yet no bulbing. It just hit me that duh, garlic is supposed to grow underground so now I'm wondering if this is the reason they aren't forming bulbs and is it too late to do anything about it? If I try adding soil on top will they bulb or should they bulb anyway regardless of if they are above or below the soil? Or is it a total lost cause?