Never grown garlic in your garden? You’re missing out! Garlic (Allium sativum) has been a gardener’s favorite for centuries—and for good reason. It’s one of the easiest crops to grow! Low-maintenance, resistant to pests, and safe from nosy rabbits and deer. Garlic practically takes care of itself. Plant it in the fall, sit back, and come early summer, you’ll have a flavorful harvest ready to spice up your kitchen.
When to Plant Garlic
When you are learning how to grow garlic, take note that timing is everything! For most, late autumn or early winter is perfect. But if you’re working with heavy soil, early spring might be your best bet. Plant garlic bulbs directly into the ground, or, if heavy soil’s an issue, start them in small pots or modules for a head start. If you don’t have a garden to plant garlic in, no problem! Garlic thrives in large containers, too, making it a versatile choice for any space.
How to Plant Garlic
A few simple steps are all it takes, and you’ll be enjoying homegrown garlic and harvesting like a pro in no time!
Prepare
Choose a sunny spot with well-draining soil for your garlic. Wet soil increases the risk of disease, especially for autumn-planted garlic. If your soil stays heavy and damp during winter, start your garlic in modules under a cold frame and plant it out in spring. Garlic prefers soil with a pH of 6.5 or higher, so reduce acidity by applying lime in autumn or winter.
Before planting, remove weeds and enrich the soil. Dig in about two bucketfuls of well-rotted manure or garden compost per square meter/yard to boost structure, moisture retention, and nutrients. Add a high-potassium general fertilizer at one handful per square meter/yard. If you skip organic matter, double the fertilizer amount.
To save time weeding later, cover the soil with a weed-suppressing membrane and plant cloves through slits.
Plant
Garlic grows differently from most vegetables. Instead of seeds, you plant single cloves—the same ones you cook with. Each clove transforms into a full garlic head.
To prepare the cloves, remove the head’s papery outer layer, then gently pull apart the cloves. Keep the papery covering on each clove intact and avoid damaging the flat bottom plate, as that’s where roots will grow. If any get damaged, save them for cooking.
Plant cloves 1 to 2 inches deep in warm climates or 3 to 4 inches deep in colder regions. Place them flat-side down with the pointy end up. For fall planting, cover the soil with 4 to 6 inches of weed-free mulch like straw, leaves, or grass clippings. It keeps soil temperatures steady, ensuring garlic cools gradually in the fall and warms up slowly in spring.
How to Grow Garlic
Learning how to grow garlic is simple and low-maintenance. Just water during dry spells and weed regularly to prevent overcrowding. If flower stems appear, snip them off to keep the plant focused on growing those delicious, flavorful bulbs.
Watering
Water your garlic regularly in spring and early summer. Once the foliage starts turning yellow, cut back on watering—that’s a sign that the bulbs are maturing and getting ready for harvest!
Weeding
Weed by hand between garlic plants to minimize competition for water and nutrients. Avoid hoeing, as it can damage the bulbs and their shallow roots. If the plants produce flower stems or scapes, remove them to direct energy into bulb growth—and don’t toss them out! Scapes are delicious in stir-fries.
Harvesting
Harvest your garlic when the leaves turn yellow. Autumn-planted garlic is ready by early summer, while spring-planted varieties are good to go from mid-summer to early autumn. Don’t wait too long because if you delay harvesting, bulbs will open, and it will be harder to store. Use a fork to carefully dig up the bulbs and handle them gently to avoid bruising.
Storing
Once the bulbs dry out and feel papery, they’re ready for storage. You can store them loose or plait the foliage into a traditional garlic string for easy hanging. Keep your garlic in a cool, dry place, and handle it gently to avoid bruising, which can reduce storage life.
Softneck garlic stores better than hardneck varieties. Enjoy the hardneck garlic first, as it won’t keep as long!
Pests and Diseases
Garlic has the superpower to repel pests naturally! However, when learning how to grow garlic, you should watch for issues that also affect onions:
- Onion maggots: These pests bore into stems, causing plants to turn yellow and wilt.
- Aster leafhoppers: Their feeding can transmit Aster yellows, leading to early leaf dieback and discolored, smelly bulbs.
- Bulb mites: These pests leave small brown scars on cloves.
To prevent problems:
- Rotate your garlic crop every four years.
- Properly dry bulbs before storage.
- Use firm, healthy cloves from trusted sources to avoid introducing diseases.
