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Growing Garlic
Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Garlic
Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Garlic
Garlic is an easy-to-grow crop that’s harvested in midsummer and planted in the fall. Harvest when the tops just begin to yellow and fall over! See all our tips on growing garlic.
Rather than risk getting subpar garlic from the grocery store, try growing your own! It’s an easy and rewarding crop to grow at home.
Beyond its intense flavor and culinary uses, “the stinking rose” is also good in the garden as an insect repellent and has been used for centuries as a home remedy.
See our video on growing garlic from planting to harvesting.
Planting
When to Plant Garlic
- Garlic is typically planted in the fall or early winter, though it may also be planted in the early spring in warmer climates.
- We advise fall planting for most gardeners. Garlic roots develop during the fall and winter—before the ground freezes—and by early spring, they start producing foliage.
- In areas that get a hard frost, plant garlic about 2 weeks after your first fall frost date, but before the ground freezes. The timing may vary with local climate; the aim is to allow a long enough period before the ground freezes for the plant to develop good roots, but not enough time to for it to form top growth before freezing temperatures set in.
- In cooler climates, planting is usually between September and November.
- In warm areas with mild winters, you have the option to plant garlic in the fall or in late winter/early spring—usually February or March.
Choosing and Preparing a Planting Site
- Select a sunny spot.
- Garlic likes fertile, well-drained soil with a pH of 6.5 to 7. If your soil is on the thin, sandy side, add healthy additions of compost, plus aged manure or 5-10-10 fertilizer. (Don’t use fresh, unprocessed animal manure, as it can transfer diseases.)
- For an easy and large harvest, garlic grower Robin Jarry of Hope, Maine, suggests using heavily mulched raised beds, especially in heavy soil. “I plant in raised beds for good drainage, and then mulch with about six inches of old hay after the ground freezes. I never water my garlic—I like low-maintenance vegetables!” Raised beds should be two to three feet wide and at least 10 to 12 inches tall.
- Lime the soil if you haven’t done so recently. Before planting cloves, work a couple tablespoons of 5-10-10 complete fertilizer, bone meal or fish meal into the soil several inches below where the base of the garlic will rest.
How to Plant Garlic
- Get cloves from a mail order seed company or a local nursery.
- Do not use cloves from the grocery store for planting. They may be unsuitable varieties for your area, and most are treated to make their shelf life longer, making them harder to grow.
- Select large, healthy cloves, free of disease. The larger the clove, the bigger and healthier the bulb you will get the following summer.
- Break apart cloves from the bulb a few days before planting, but keep the papery husk on each individual clove.
- Place cloves 2 to 4 inches apart and 2 inches deep, in their upright position (the wide root side facing down and pointed end facing up).
- Plant in rows spaced 10 to 14 inches apart.
Care
How to Grow Garlic
- Northern gardeners should mulch heavily with straw to ensure proper overwintering. Read our mulching guide for more info!
- Mulch should be removed in the spring after the threat of frost has passed. (Young shoots can’t survive in temps below 20°F / -6°C on their own. Keep them under cover.)
- In the spring, as warmer temperatures come, shoots will emerge through the ground.
- Cut off any flower shoots that emerge in spring. These may decrease bulb size.
- Fertilize garlic in the early spring by side dressing with a nitrogen-heavy fertilizer such as blood meal, chicken manure, or a store-bought pelleted fertilizer.
- Fertilize again just before the bulbs begin to swell in response to lengthening daylight (usually early May in most regions).
- Weeds should not be a problem until spring. However, keep the planting site well weeded. Garlic doesn’t do well with competition—it needs all available nutrients!
- Garlic is a heavy feeder which requires adequate levels of nitrogen. Fertilize more if you see yellowing leaves.
- Water every 3 to 5 days during bulbing (mid-May through June). If May and June are very dry, irrigate to a depth of two feet every eight to 10 days. As mid-June approaches, taper off watering.
Pests/Diseases
Garlic has very few problems with pests in the garden (in fact, its a natural pest repellent), and also very few problems with the diseases that plague other veggies. White rot is one concern, but you should also keep an eye out for the same pests that plague onions.
- White Rot is a fungus that may attack garlic in cool weather. Not much can be done to control or prevent that problem except rotating your crops and cleaning up the area after harvesting. The spores can live in the soil for many years. The fungus affects the base of the leaves and roots.
Harvest/Storage
How to Harvest Garlic
- Harvest from fall plantings will range from late June to August. In Southern climates, it will depend on your planting date. The clue is to look for yellowing foliage. Harvest when the tops just begin to yellow and fall over, but before they are completely dry.
- Before digging up your whole crop, it’s time for a sample! Lift a bulb to see if the crop is ready. We often dig up a bulb before the tops are completely yellow (in late June or early July) as some garlic types will be ready earlier. The garlic head will be divided into plump cloves and the skin covering the outside of the bulbs will be thick, dry and papery.
- If pulled too early, the bulb wrapping will be thin and disintegrate.
- If left in the ground too long, the bulbs sometimes split apart. The skin may also split, which exposes the bulbs to disease and will affect their longevity in storage.
- To harvest, carefully dig (don’t pull!) up the bulbs with a spade or garden fork. Lift the plants, carefully brush off the soil, and let them cure in an airy, shady, dry spot for two weeks. We hang them upside down on a string in bunches of 4 to 6. Make sure all sides get good air circulation. Be careful not to bruise the garlic or it won’t store well.
How to Store Garlic
- The bulbs are cured and ready to store when the wrappers are dry and papery and the roots are dry. The root crown should be hard, and the cloves can be cracked apart easily.
- Once the garlic bulbs are dry, you can store them. Remove any dirt and trim off any roots or leaves. Keep the wrappers on—but remove the dirtiest wrappers. Remove the tops and roots.
- Bulbs should be stored in a cool (40°F / 4°C), dark, dry place, and can be kept in the same way for several months. Don’t store in your basement if it’s moist! Do not store garlic in the refrigerator, either.
- The flavor will increase as the bulbs are dried. Properly stored, garlic should last until the next crop is harvested the following summer.
- If you plan on planting garlic again next season, save some of your largest, best-formed bulbs to plant again in the fall.
Recommended Varieties
What type of garlic should you plant? There are three types of garlic: Softneck, Hardneck, and Great-headed (Elephant). Most types are about 90 days to harvest, once growth starts.
- Hardneck varieties grow one ring of cloves around a stem, there is not a layer of cloves as there is in softneck varieties. They are extremely cold hardy, but do not store as well or long as other varieties. Flavor is milder than softnecks. Common hardneck types include ‘Korean Red’, ‘Duganski’, ‘Siberian’, ‘Music’, ‘Chesnok Red’, ‘German Red’ and ‘Spanish Roja’. These varieties produce tiny bulblets at the end of a tall flowering stalk in addition to a fat underground bulb of cloves.
- Softneck varieties, like their name suggests, have necks that stay soft after harvest, and therefore are the types that you see braided. Especially recommended for those in warmer climes, as it is less winter-hardy than other types. Strong, intense flavor. They tend to grow bigger bulbs because energy is not being diverted to top-set bulblets like hardnecks. Softneck varieties include ‘Silverskin’, ‘Inchelium Red’, ‘California Early’ and ‘California Late’.
- Great-headed (Elephant) garlic is not recommended if you’re looking for a garlic taste. It’s less hardy, and more closely related to leeks than other varieties. The flavor is more like onion than traditional garlic. Bulbs and cloves are large, with about 4 cloves to a bulb.
Wit & Wisdom
- Rub raw garlic on an insect bite to relieve the sting or itch. Find out more uses for raw garlic and more about garlic’s long history of healing.
A nickel will get you on the subway, but garlic will get you a seat.
–Yiddish proverb
Recipes
Cooking Notes
- You can also harvest just the green scapes of hardneck garlic varieties. Harvest when the scape begin to curl (often around mid-June). This doesn’t hurt the bulb; in fact, the plant can put more energy into bulb formation. Use the scapes in cooking the same way you would garlic bulbs. We like to stir fry scapes the way we cook green beans—similar, with a spicy kick! Note that they get more fibrous and less edible as they mature.
- Learn how to make your own garlic powder to easily spice up a recipe.
- Roasted garlic bulbs are also a favorite of ours!
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Reader Comments
Leave a Comment
Mini bulbs
Just harvested some hardneck garlic. Two of the heads had mini bulbs growing off the bulb. None of the other bulbs had them. What are these?
bulblets
Hardneck types of garlic usually produce a flower stalk that will produce small bulblets. These are called “topsetting” garlic varieties. You can still eat these small bulbs!
Garlic drooping
I know you aren't supposed to use store bought garlic to plant but figured since I have an apartment I'd try it since I've no yard. I first tried one in a pot inside in my south window and it had been looking great, but because some of the leaves were so long I stupidly trimmed them and used them for cooking. They grew back out but now the bottom two are getting dry while the top long ones have flopped over but still feel normal otherwise. But I'm concerned about them flopping and don't know what to do or what that means. I planted April 25 in the pot and it was shooting within 7-10 days so has only been growing for about a month and a half so surely can't be ready. Should I put it outside? Try attaching it to something to hold up the leaves? Transplant? It was looking so good 'til about two days ago... And I didn't even think it'd grow initially since it was store garlic and inside. ☹️
floppy garlic
Your first instinct is probably the wisest: You aren’t supposed to plant store bought—better to say, actually, that it often has been treated so as not to grow. You know how sometimes an onion, if left sitting around will send up greens? These are edible. Well, even store-bought garlic does the same thing if you wait long enough, and this is what it sounds like yours did. Transplanting will do nothing but weaken it; it would have to start (whatever it’s doing) all over again. Put it outdoors, if you like. But consider it purely as an experiment. In the fall, get a locally grown fresh garlic head at a farmer’s market and plant its cloves in a pot or in the soil. Just give it some winter and it should be ready to harvest in summer. For details, see above.
Planting in containers in May, when to harvest?
I live in northern California, hardiness zone 9B, and I'm trying my hand at growing garlic for the first time. I have an apartment with no yard so planted my garlic in a container with drainage holes using potting soil May 4th and have it on my balcony. I read when you plant in fall it takes 8-10 months but saw your page said 90-150 days between sprouting and harvest. I had sprouts by mid May, so about when should I expect to harvest, assuming they actually created bulbs and not just scapes? Thanks!
potted garlic
Scapes are a good sign. Cut them off to use in cooking (or just discard; the point is, if you leave the scape on, it will use the energy that would have gone into the head). Wait until the greens/foliage dies back then uproot it to see if the clove you planted produced a head.
Blooming garlic
I planted garlic among my roses to help repel insects. Now it is blooming with long stalks with a flower at the top. Do I harvest the garlic after these blooms and stalks turn yellow?
harvesting garlic
For edible garlic (not the ornamental type), some gardeners like to trim off the scapes for eating just as they finish curling in their first loop, before the flower bud develops and opens. This way, the plant focuses on bulb growth rather than using that energy for producing flowers and seeds. But other gardeners prefer to let their garlic flower. Since yours are blooming, the scapes are likely too tough now for eating; you can remove the flower scape (not leaves) now, or just leave them be. As to harvesting the bulbs, you can dig them up when the lower 3 to 5 leaves are turning brown–the upper ones will still be green. Don’t wait until all leaves are brown. If you aren’t sure about timing, gently dig up a bulb to check on its size. Hope this helps!
Garlic Growing Advice
I had brought some garlic from Africa. I am living in India and I had put a close in well balanced soil,it gets plenty of sun. It was put in January and now there are big green leafs. I want it to spread so that I can have more garlic. Do I pull it out and put it's cloves again or do I let it stay in and it will spread on its own?
Time to Maturity
Based on information given on this site, You need to let it grow to maturity in July / August, before digging it up. Let it dry a bit, and replant the cloves. See some of the other comments and replies.
Planting garlic
I love in zone 5 and have some garlic from last year that has some green shoots. Can I plant it now?
spring garlic
Although it’s best to plant in fall, sometimes the bulbs do sprout in storage over winter. Plant these in spring as soon as the ground can be worked. The bulbs may not be as large, and they may not develop cloves, but they can still be tasty.
garlic
What fertilizer should I use for garlic? And when is the most beneficial time to fertilize? I live in southeast Ohio. Thank you!
Best garlic fertilizer
type ????
fertilizing garlic
Good question. Garlic is a heavy feeder and needs lots of nutrients to grow well.
The best time to plant garlic is from September through November. Plant the garlic in full sun in well-drained soil. For planting garlic, we usually lime the soil and then work a couple tablespoons of 5-10-10 complete fertilizer, bone meal or fish meal into the soil several inches below where the base of the garlic will rest. Also, note that a sandy, clay loam is best. In heavier soil, it’s best to plant garlic in raised beds that are two to three feet wide and at least 10 to 12 inches tall.
Fertilize garlic in the early spring by side dressing or broadcasting with blood meal, pelleted chicken manure or a synthetic source of nitrogen. Just before the bulbs begin to swell in response to lengthening daylight (usually early May), fertilize lightly one more time. Weed garlic well, as it can’t stand much competition. Most years, you won’t need to water unless your soil is very sandy or it’s very dry. If May and June are very dry, irrigate to a depth of two feet every eight to 10 days. As mid-June approaches, taper off the watering.
Garlic Growth
I live in NJ. I planted and covered my garlic in Oct. it is only March and my garlic is already growing. should I cut the sprouts off? or just let them grow? and when would I harvest? thanks
garlic sprouting now...
Do not cut the sprouts/foliage off of your garlic. If you are experiencing wintry weather, throw on a bit of mulch, enough to cover. Harvest is not until July, when the slender foliage dies back. BUT before that happens, you will see a long, round stem grow out of the foliage and on the end of it, after the stem forms a curl, a “scape.” The pointed scape is the plant’s flower bud, and it will take energy from the bulb under the ground if left on, so cut it off, along with several inches to a foot of the stem (cut the stem off where it curls). You can use the scape in cooking, as you would, garlic cloves.
thank you
thank you
My garlic patch
Help. My garlic is taking over the whole yard. I dig it out, and it keeps returning and spreading. Is there a remedy to control it like sea salt or something? Love it but it's turned into a monster.
garlic troubles
Goodness! If your garlic is behaving like the wild garlic weed, then the advice for controlling is likely … just what you have been doing. Hand pulling (preferably after a rain, so the soil is soft, and you can better pull up all of the plant without leaving the bulbs) and digging with a trowel or shovel, especially in fall/winter/early spring before new bulbs form in spring. Fortunately, they are shallow-rooted, but you must make sure to dig up all the bulbs. Do not let the plants form scapes. If the plants are in the lawn, keep up with mowing, which may eventually weaken the plants and will prevent scapes from developing.
Planting garlic in spring in N.Y.
The planting calendar said I should have sown garlic cloves in October because I love in N.Y. but it's January now and I was wondering if I have a chance still. I don't want to sow them in January but I'm wondering if I can get them ready for spring. Frost is clear here around may 1st to May 15th. That's when my typical garden plants go in. Garlic is different. Should I start them indoors now in pots near a window. This is my 1st garlic grow so does anybody have experience with this , especially northern Americans with similar weather as N.Y. any advice would be appreciated because garlic is so beneficial. Thank you and good luck gardening this season everyone.
Idk about New York, but my
Idk about New York, but my garlic grew great in a five gallon bucket with my jalepeño plant, as well as one in a smaller container by itself.
Seems like a good problem to have. Lol.
But seriously. If you aren't sure if you have gotten them com then are still spreading you might just put in a bed for them so they can't spread any further. Since they are shallow rooted you wouldn't have to dig down too deep to put your wood down to make them a permanent bed. Then you don't have to worry with them spreading any further and they have their own home. Just a thought. I can't get garlic to grow for me for some reason. I have tried several times. And it never works out. I'm gonna try again in October. We live in Tennessee. Good luck.
Water it?
I just planted my garlic (a few weeks late, but oh well). Should I water it once after I plant it, water it regularly, or not at all? Thanks in advance!
watering garlic
Once you have placed the bulb in the bed in fall, then water the bed immediately if it is dry, before putting on the mulch. (Do not put on mulch if you live in an exceptionally wet climate.) Then over winter, with the mulch on, you can usually skip watering. In spring, when the leaves start to grow, then the garlic will like consistent water (but not too much, or it will rot), until a few weeks before harvest, at which point the watering should be stopped.
Harvesting garlic
Hello, I am in zone 6, and have noticed lots of green "stalks" (for lack of a better word) growing from of all the areas where I had planted garlic before. They are about 8-10 inches. Should I harvest them now, or are they better left until next summer? Thank you!
garlic sprouting now...
It’s not unusual for garlic to send up shoots like that. Leave it alone; just toss on a couple inches of mulch—fallen leaves are enough. The garlic will be fine. It’s just as eager as we are to get on with the next growing season!
Is it too late to plant Garlic
I live in Maine, we have had one hard frost, is it too late to plant garlic?, this week looks like it's going to be in the 20's at night and 40's during the day.
garlic planting in Maine
In Maine, it is probably not a good time to plant garlic now. Usually, recommendations are for around October 1 for the northern tip of the state, to around October 15 in the central section, and November 1 at the very southwest corner of the state. For further advice for your area, you might contact your county’s Cooperative Extension.
In areas that get a hard frost, you can plant garlic as early as 6 to 8 weeks before the first expected fall frost date, before the ground freezes. The aim is to give a long enough period before the ground freezes for the plant to develop good roots, but not enough time to for it to form top growth before freezing temperatures set in.
Garlic
Does the garlic bulb stop growing when you cut the flower stem?
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