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Planting and Growing Garlic: From Cloves to Harvest

clean garlic heads after being harvested from the garden
Botanical Name
Allium sativum
Plant Type
Vegetables
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Soil pH
Neutral
USDA Zones
3a
3b
4a
4b
5a
5b
6a
6b
7a
7b
8a
8b
9a
9b
Special Features
Container-Friendly
Low Maintenance
Deer-resistant
Rabbit-resistant
Written By: Catherine Boeckmann Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

The best time to plant garlic is usually in fall, using individual cloves that will grow into full bulbs by the following summer. 

For the best bulbs, give garlic full sun, well-drained soil, and steady moisture during spring growth, then ease up on watering as harvest approaches.

Read Next

Planting

When to Plant Garlic

Plant garlic in fall, after the weather has cooled but before the ground freezes. In colder climates, a useful rule of thumb is to plant about 1 to 2 weeks after the first killing frost, giving the cloves time to develop roots before winter.

Garlic needs a period of cold temperatures for good bulb development. Fall-planted garlic receives this chilling naturally over winter. If you plant garlic in spring, chill the cloves in the refrigerator for about 8 weeks beforehand, then plant as soon as the soil can be worked.

In many areas, garlic goes into the ground around the same time as spring-flowering bulbs, generally from September through November. Gardeners in mild-winter climates may plant later, but spring-planted garlic often produces smaller bulbs.

Where to Plant Garlic

Plant garlic in full sun, with at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight per day, and in fertile, well-drained soil. Before planting, work compost or other well-rotted organic matter into the soil to improve its structure and fertility.

Good drainage is especially important. Garlic can rot in soil that stays wet, so if you have heavy clay or poorly drained soil, consider planting in a raised bed.

How to Plant Garlic

Plant garlic as individual cloves, 2 to 3 inches deep and about 4 to 6 inches apart, with the pointed end facing up. Separate the cloves from the bulb just before planting, and leave the papery skins intact.

  1. Start with healthy seed garlic. Choose large, firm, disease-free bulbs from a reputable nursery, garden center, or seed supplier.
  2. Separate the bulb into cloves just before planting. Use the largest healthy cloves and keep their papery skins on. Larger cloves generally produce larger bulbs.
  3. Plant each clove 2 to 3 inches deep, with the pointed end facing up.
  4. Space cloves about 4 to 6 inches apart. If planting in rows, leave enough room between rows for weeding and tending the plants.
  5. Water after planting to settle the soil around the cloves.
Planting garlic cloves in the soil
Credit: YuriyS/Getty Images

Spacing for Garlic

Growing

Watering

Keep garlic evenly moist during active spring growth, especially as the bulbs begin to form. Garlic generally needs about 1 inch of water per week from rain or irrigation during dry weather, but avoid keeping the soil soggy.

As the lower leaves begin to yellow and harvest approaches, reduce and then stop watering. Too much moisture late in the season can delay curing and increase the risk of bulb problems.

Fertilizing

Garlic benefits from nitrogen while it is producing vigorous leafy growth in spring. Side-dress plants with a nitrogen-rich fertilizer when active growth resumes. In lower-fertility soils, a second light feeding may be helpful before the bulbs begin to enlarge.

Avoid heavy fertilizing once bulb formation is underway. A soil test is the best guide to whether your soil needs additional nutrients.

Pruning or Maintenance

Keep garlic beds weeded throughout the growing season. Garlic has shallow roots and does not compete well with weeds for water and nutrients.

If you are growing hardneck garlic, cut off the flower stalks, called scapes, after they emerge and begin to curl. Removing scapes helps the plant direct more energy into producing larger bulbs. The tender scapes are edible, too.

Seasonal Care

In cold-winter areas, a layer of straw or chopped leaves helps protect fall-planted garlic from repeated freezing and thawing. As growth resumes in spring, loosen or pull back heavy, matted mulch so the shoots can emerge easily.

A lighter layer of mulch can remain through the growing season to conserve moisture and suppress weeds.

Types

Garlic comes in two main types: hardneck and softneck. The best choice depends largely on your climate and whether you value scapes, large cloves, or longer storage.

  • Hardneck garlic is generally more winter-hardy and is a good choice for colder climates. It produces a stiff central stalk and edible scapes, with fewer but typically larger cloves. Hardneck garlic does not store as long as softneck types. Popular varieties include ‘Chesnok Red’ and ‘German Red’.
  • Softneck garlic is well suited to many milder climates and generally stores longer than hardneck garlic. It usually produces more, smaller cloves and has flexible stems that can be braided after curing. Popular varieties include ‘California Early’ and ‘Inchelium Red’.

Harvesting

When to Harvest Garlic

Harvest garlic when about one-third to one-half of the leaves have turned yellow or brown, while several upper leaves are still green. Don’t wait until all the foliage has dried, or the bulbs may begin to split apart and won’t store as well.

Garlic planted in fall is typically ready to harvest the following summer, usually from June through August depending on your climate and the variety. If you’re unsure, carefully dig up one bulb to check it. Mature bulbs should have plump, well-defined cloves covered by several layers of papery skin.

If you’re growing hardneck garlic for scapes, harvest the scapes earlier in the season when they begin to curl.

How to Harvest Garlic

Loosen the soil around each bulb with a garden fork or shovel, taking care not to pierce or bruise it. Lift the whole plant from the soil rather than pulling hard on the stem.

Gently brush away large clumps of soil, but leave the leaves and roots attached while the garlic cures.

Storage

Garlic can be used fresh from the garden, but bulbs intended for storage should be cured first.

Place freshly harvested garlic in a warm, dry, shady location with good air circulation for about 2 to 4 weeks. Garlic is fully cured when the outer skins are papery, the neck and roots are dry, and the cloves feel firm.

After curing, gently brush away loose soil. Trim the roots and cut the stems to about 1 to 2 inches above the bulb, unless you’re growing softneck garlic and want to braid the tops.

Store cured garlic in a cool, dry, dark place with good air circulation. Softneck garlic generally stores longer than hardneck garlic.

Save a few of your largest, healthiest bulbs if you’d like to plant your own garlic again in fall.

Harvested garlic bulbs laying on a table in the sun
Photo by Nikolaeva Elena/Getty Images

Gardening Products

Pests and Problems

Common Problems

  • Bulbs are small or undersized: Crowding, low fertility, dry soil during active growth, planting too late, or leaving scapes on hardneck garlic can all limit bulb size. Give plants adequate space, steady moisture, and nutrients while they are actively growing.
  • Bulbs are splitting apart: Garlic may begin to separate into individual cloves when it is left in the ground too long. Harvest when the lower leaves have browned but several upper leaves are still green.
  • Leaves are turning yellow: Some yellowing is normal as garlic approaches harvest. If leaves yellow or wilt earlier in the season, check soil moisture and look closely for pest or disease symptoms before adding fertilizer.

Common Pests

  • Plants suddenly yellow or wilt, and bulbs have holes: Onion maggots may be feeding on the roots and bulbs. You may find small, cream-colored, legless maggots inside damaged bulbs. Remove badly affected plants, rotate garlic and other alliums to a different part of the garden, and use floating row covers where onion maggots have been a recurring problem.
  • Leaves develop whitish or silvery streaks and may become distorted: Check between the leaves for tiny onion thrips. Small infestations usually cause little damage in home gardens. Keep weeds under control, use mulch, and knock thrips from the foliage with a strong spray of water if needed.

Plant Diseases

  • Leaves yellow and wilt, and the base of the bulb develops fluffy white growth: These are signs of white rot. Small black, poppy-seed-like structures may also appear around the bulb. Remove infected plants and avoid moving contaminated soil or bulbs to other parts of the garden. Plant only clean, disease-free garlic in unaffected soil. White rot can survive in soil for more than 20 years, so crop rotation alone will not eliminate it.

Wit and Wisdom

  • Garlic has long been nicknamed “the stinking rose“—a playful nod to its famously pungent aroma and its prized place in the kitchen.
  • Ancient Greek athletes were reportedly given garlic before competition, perhaps making it one of history’s earliest “performance enhancers.”
  • Old-time gardeners sometimes said that garlic “learns” a garden, referring to the way locally saved planting stock can become well suited to a particular growing place.

Recipes
Sauteed Spinach with Shallots and Garlic
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Garden Patch Potato Salad
Creamy Garlic Dressing
Basil & Garlic Stuffed Quail
Vegetables

About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann

Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Catherine Boeckmann loves nature, stargazing, and gardening so it’s not surprising that she and The Old Farmer’s Almanac found each other. She leads digital content for the Almanac website, and is also a certified master gardener in the state of Indiana.

Read more from Catherine Boeckmann

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Comments

<span>Debbie Borden</span> Sun, 01/11/2015 - 12:56
There was garlic here when I moved here 20+ yrs. ago & I've spread it around - it grows great. It has the purple flowers. Three questions: It doesn't have much flavor. Is there anything I can do? If I start another type will they cross? Most important: I have cut the leaf stalks in the winter when they have gotten about 10" high & used them in cooking. I only used the bottom few inches, 1/2 white, 1/2 green. Has anyone tried this? Is it safe? They do make a nice garlic butter w/ carrot slivers on pasta. Thanks.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 01/12/2015 - 11:53

Hi Debbie,

See Q&A below about flavor. Garlic does not cross pollinate so you can plant different varieties in your garden. The tops of garlic are called scapes and are a wonderful addition to many dishes.

 <span>Iatola</span> Mon, 12/29/2014 - 11:50
My father has been growing garlic for several years. Harvesting and re-planting. The plants have always come up beautifully, but the garlic does not have any flavor. Any idea of what would be causing this and if it is possible to fix or if the bulbs are trash now?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 01/05/2015 - 14:36

Garlic flavor depends on several things. Hardnecks tend to have a stronger, more robust flavor than softnecks. The actual variety of either of these will also affect the taste. Elephant garlic (really a leek) has a mild flavor.

 

Some say the bigger the bulb, the less flavor. Overwatering, or watering or fertilizing too close to harvest, might also affect flavor. Temperature and other environmental conditions are also factors, and can make a normally strong garlic mild or vice versa. Garlic will increase in flavor the longer it is stored, although some varieties are better than others for storage.

 <span>Digginindirt</span> Sat, 01/03/2015 - 18:38
Usually garlic becomes tasteless if it has been over fertilized. You can still plant the cloves from your garlic bulb and either not fertilize at all, or only once (around may).
<span>Magi</span> Sun, 12/14/2014 - 10:34
hi i planted a garlic in winter and not sure when to pull it out and its been 1 week and 1 day and its growing fast what do i do?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 12/15/2014 - 14:14

Harvest when the top begins to yellow and fall over. You can also use the green top in cooking. It has a garlicky flavor. See the tips on this page on how to grow and harvest garlic.

 <span>Davendra Budhoo</span> Wed, 12/03/2014 - 17:23
can garlic grow in Guyana
<span>Nate</span> Sat, 11/22/2014 - 22:03
I live on the kenai peninsula in Alaska. I want to plant garlic next fall (2015). How much mulch (inches) should I put on top of my raised beds?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 11/24/2014 - 09:11

Hi, Nate: This really depends on where you are on the peninsula and whether your site is exposed to very harsh winter weather or not so much so. The simple answer is 4 to 5 inches of wood chip and/or bark mulch. You should also bank some up against the sides of your raised beds, too, if possible. Be sure to get your garlic into the ground before the soil gets too cold. Your first frost is usually around October 8, so plan on at least a month before that. Incidentally, we assume that you mean wood mulch. Technically, the word "mulch" means anything that is so used, such as hay, seaweed, etc., for each of which the depth would be different. Way to plan ahead!