How to Grow Garlic
We plant garlic in the fall, when the garden begins to fall asleep and the beds are falling empty after the last harvest. For us, garlic is that crop that connects the old growing season with the promise of future abundance. Something we do at the end, to enjoy next year.
Fall planted garlic growing in early spring.
Garlic is easy to grow, taking space in empty winter beds and slowly peeking through the soil first than anything else. A glorious bit of green in a mostly bare garden. Read along to find out how to grow and harvest fall planted garlic.
We like to plant garlic cloves with the kids at the end of Fall Series at the Nature School. The cloves are large and easy to plant for small hands, and those who return for Spring Series get to see how much the plants grew in the winter, when not much else was growing.
Growing garlic from bulbs
You can grow garlic from seed or garlic bulbs. I recommend doing it from garlic bulbs as you save months of growing time.
Only plant the largest, healthiest cloves from each bulb.
What kind of garlic should you plant?
There are many varieties of garlic and they are divided in two main categories. Hardneck and softneck. Softnecks grow leaves that remain soft and flexible through the plant's life, and hardnecks grow a flower stalk in the center that makes the plant stand straight. Have you seen those beautiful braided bunches of garlic? Those are made with softneck garlic that allows for braiding once the mature plant is harvested.
Hardneck vs softneck garlic varieties
Some people say that hardnecks have more flavor than softneck. They tend to have thicker skin making them easier to peel and grow fewer, but often larger cloves. The garlic you find at grocery stores is typically softneck as it commonly grows more cloves per bulb and can be stored for longer.
I prefer to grow softneck because it stores better and because I enjoy braiding it once it’s been harvested and allowed to dry. But if you’re in zone 6 or colder, and planning to plant garlic outdoors in the fall, go for hardneck because it is more cold hardy.
Where to buy garlic to plant?
You can buy garlic bulbs from seed companies or from your neighborhood organic store. Non-organic produce is often sprayed with chemicals that inhibit growth, so make sure it’s organic before you start.
How to plant garlic
Ok, you have your garlic bulbs ready to plant.
First you’ll want to split the bulbs into cloves. Then select the largest cloves to plant and exclude anything too small, brown or diseased.
Amend your soil and add an organic fertilizer
If you’re using the square foot method, you can plant 9 cloves per square foot. We use our planting grid to keep the cloves evenly spaced out. If you’re planting in lines, leave 4 to 6 inches between cloves.
Dig a hole about 3 inches deep and plant the clove with the pointy part up. The flat part is where the roots will grow.
Cover with dirt, and mulch the area with 2 to 4 inches of straw.
Water thoroughly once. If you’re planting late in fall, you might not have to water again as the rains and snow should keep it moist throughout the winter.
I placed our 9-planting grid to show you how it helped us plant them evenly spaced out. This grid is specially helpful when planting with children.
When to harvest your fall planted garlic?
Fall planted garlic is ready to harvest sometime between late spring and mid summer, depending on how early it was planted. We usually plant it later in fall than most people because we like to wait until the beds are mostly empty and amended for next year. The general rule is to harvest when the lower part of the plant has turned yellow, but to be sure, you’ll have to dig out a couple of plants and check to see if they are ready. You want to see a good size bulb with all the cloves filled in.
When harvested, cut off the stalks (or braid and hang softnecks) and let dry in a dark and well ventilated area.
And remember to save some dry bulbs to plant next fall! Garlic, like many other crops, gets better over time when you plant it year after year.
