How to Grow Garlic: Fall Planting Step by Step

Garlic quick facts

On this page

• Garlic quick facts
• Hardneck or softneck: which garlic should you grow?
• Why does garlic need cold to form cloves?
• When should you plant garlic?
• The bed: site, soil and rotation
• How to plant garlic step by step
• Zone chart: planting, scapes and harvest for USDA zones 3–6
• Care from November through June
• Should you cut off garlic scapes?
• How do you know when garlic is ready to harvest?
• Curing, braiding and storage
• Can you save your own cloves for next year?
• Why shouldn't you plant supermarket garlic?
• White rot, leek moth and other problems
• Common mistakes
• Frequently asked questions

Hardneck or softneck: which garlic should you grow?

Garlic splits into two groups, and the choice drives almost everything: hardiness, flavour, keeping quality and whether you can braid it.

Hardneck garlic

Hardneck garlic sends a stiff, round flower stem — the scape — straight up through the centre of the plant in June. When you lift the bulb, the cloves sit in a single ring around that woody stalk: four to ten large cloves, never more.

This is the group for cold climates. It handles a long, hard winter, and the flavour gets hotter the colder it is grown. University of Minnesota Extension recommends hardnecks outright for Minnesota, noting that varieties which behave as softnecks in mild climates often throw a flower stalk there anyway. The trade-off is storage: hardneck garlic rarely lasts past late winter.

The subgroups are Porcelain, Purple Stripe and Rocambole. Porcelains are the workhorses in zones 3–5 — 'Music', 'German Extra Hardy', 'Georgian Crystal', 'Romanian Red' — with four to six huge cloves and six to nine months of storage. Purple Stripes such as 'Chesnok Red' and 'Siberian' are equally hardy and often store longer. Rocamboles like 'Spanish Roja' and 'German Red' have the best flavour of any garlic, but keep only four to six months and sulk in wet soil.

Softneck garlic

Softneck garlic normally produces no scape. The leaves grow until they flop over on their own, and the bulb packs more, smaller cloves into several layers — ten to twenty is normal. The foliage stays pliable, which is what makes braiding possible.

The advantage is storage; many softnecks hold into the following summer. The drawback is that the group evolved in mild climates and is less reliable through a hard, snowless winter: excellent in zone 6, a gamble in zone 4 and colder without deep mulch. The subgroups are Artichoke and Silverskin — 'Inchelium Red' is the best-known Artichoke type, 'Nootka Rose' the classic Silverskin, keeping nine to twelve months. British and Irish growers will know the French softnecks 'Thermidrome', 'Messidrome' and 'Germidour'.

Side by side

A sensible plan is to plant both: hardneck for flavour, scapes and winter security, softneck so there is still garlic in the basket in April.

Why does garlic need cold to form cloves?

This is the mechanism that makes fall planting necessary, and it is rarely explained properly. A garlic clove is a bud with a food store attached. For it to become a whole bulb with several cloves, two things must happen in order: an unbroken cold period, then lengthening days and warmth. The cold period is called vernalization. The RHS puts the requirement at one to two months at 0–10 °C (32–50 °F) for good bulb development, and University of Maryland Extension gives roughly the same figure. Cold breaks dormancy and switches the plant from making leaves to making a bulb. Without it, what you dig in July is a single undivided bulb the size of a walnut — a round, edible but never worth replanting.

Then the second signal: long days. Garlic only starts dividing into cloves once daylength gets long, which in the north is May or June. That is why nothing appears to happen underground for months and then the bulb swells in three weeks. The practical consequence is that the clove has to have been cold before May, and one planted in April almost never collects its two cold months in time.

When should you plant garlic?

Two things set the date: soil temperature and the ground freezing. University of Minnesota Extension puts it neatly: plant one or two weeks after the first killing frost. By then the soil has cooled to around 10 °C (50 °F) and is still falling, so the clove roots without pushing much top growth. Plant too early into warm soil and you get a plant standing green and 15 cm (6 in) tall in November, which costs energy and makes it frost-sensitive. The same soil-temperature logic that governs when to plant potatoes in spring applies here, backwards.

For the latest sensible date, work back three to four weeks from the ground freezing. The clove needs that long to put out a root system, and those roots hold the bulb down when the ground freezes and thaws in February. In practice that means late September through October across zones 3–5, and October into November in zone 6. By mid-September the window is already open in zone 3.

Can you plant garlic in spring?

Yes, but expect smaller bulbs. Spring garlic goes in as soon as the soil can be worked, usually March or April, and the cloves should be chilled first — six to eight weeks in a fridge crisper drawer is the usual home method. Pick an early variety, and still expect half the bulb size, sometimes bulbs that never divide. Spring planting is the rescue if you missed fall, not a strategy.

The bed: site, soil and rotation

Garlic sits in the ground for nine months, six of them wet, so drainage matters more than fertility. Pick full sun — garlic shaded half the day makes smaller bulbs — and an open spot where the foliage dries quickly. Avoid low points where meltwater stands in March; a clove sitting in water during a thaw simply rots. On heavy clay a raised bed is often the whole difference between success and failure: lift it 15–20 cm (6–8 in) and the winter water runs away. Aim for pH 6.0–7.5 and work in 2–3 litres of well-rotted compost per square metre. Fresh manure has no place in a garlic bed — it drives soft growth and raises the risk of rot.

Rotation

This is the rule with the longest consequences if you ignore it. Never plant garlic where onions, leeks, chives or shallots have grown in the last three to four years. All alliums share the same soil-borne diseases, and the worst of them, white rot, forms resting bodies that survive a decade or more. University of Minnesota Extension recommends a four-year rotation on allium ground.

Garlic makes an excellent follow-on to early potatoes, since that bed is empty and already worked in September. If you plan the garden in blocks, garlic belongs in the allium block with leeks and onions, while roots get their own — the guide on how to grow carrots covers how that block is laid out.

How to plant garlic step by step

1. Break the bulbs apart on planting day. Cloves separated for a week dry out at the basal plate. Leave the papery skin on — it is the clove's first line of defence.
2. Choose the biggest cloves. Large cloves make large bulbs. Plant the fat outer ones and keep the small inner ones for the kitchen. Discard anything soft, mouldy or with a browned basal plate.
3. Prepare the bed. Loosen the top 20–25 cm (8–10 in), clear perennial weeds and work in compost. Couch grass is far harder to remove in May with garlic standing close.
4. Mark out rows. 30 cm (12 in) apart. In a raised bed a grid with 15 cm (6 in) between all plants works just as well and uses space better.
5. Set each clove pointed end up. The flat, pale basal plate goes down. A clove planted sideways usually survives but sends up a bent stem and makes a lopsided bulb.
6. Plant 5 cm (2 in) deep, measured from the tip of the clove to the surface. On heavy clay 3–4 cm (11/2 in) is enough; on light soil in zones 3–4 go to 8 cm (3 in), which stops frost heave lifting the clove out.
7. Space 15 cm (6 in) in the row. Closer than 10 cm (4 in) gives smaller bulbs. Wider than 15 cm does not give bigger ones, only more weeding.
8. Backfill and label. Firm lightly and water only if the soil is dry. Label with variety and date — come June you will not remember which row was which.
9. Mulch once the cold arrives. Wait until hard frost is the rule, usually three to four weeks after planting, then lay 8–10 cm (3–4 in) of straw or shredded leaves, up to 15 cm (6 in) in zone 3. Mulching too early just builds a warm nest for voles.

How much should you plant?

At 15 cm (6 in) in the row and 30 cm (12 in) between rows you get about 22 plants per square metre, each making one bulb — two bulbs a month for a year, with margin. Then add seed stock: if you plan to replant next fall, set aside about a fifth of the harvest. A 250 g (1/2 lb) pack of hardneck seed garlic is roughly 12 to 20 plants.

Zone chart: planting, scapes and harvest for USDA zones 3–6

Garlic is hardy throughout this range, so the zone says nothing about survival — what it tells you is when the ground freezes, and therefore how late you can plant. The dates below are guides; cold clay in a hollow behaves like a zone colder.

The planting window shifts about five weeks between zone 6 and zone 3, but harvest only three to four — garlic makes up ground during the long northern days of early summer. Mulch also matters more the colder the zone: in zone 6 it is mostly weed control, in zones 3–4 genuine protection against frost heave on snowless ground.

Care from November through June

Winter

Nothing. That is the point. Check in November that the mulch is still where you put it and no cloves have heaved out. Green shoots before winter are not a problem — leaves can freeze off without harming the plant, because the growing point sits protected down in the clove.

Spring

Once the ground thaws and the first shoots push through, pull the straw off the row so the soil can warm and leave it between rows. Now, and only now, garlic wants nitrogen. University of Minnesota Extension advises top-dressing as soon as shoots emerge and again two to three weeks later — then stopping. Nitrogen after the first week of May delays bulbing and gives soft bulbs. That is the opposite of a heavy feeder like tomatoes; compare the schedule in the guide on how to grow tomatoes.

Weeds and water

Garlic leaves are narrow and cast almost no shade, so weeds have a clear run. Weed every couple of weeks from April to June — competition costs most in the few weeks when the bulb is sizing up.

Garlic needs steady moisture from May to mid-June, about 25 mm (1 in) a week if rain does not supply it; a dry spell then means small bulbs. Stop watering two to three weeks before harvest — garlic lifted from wet ground comes up with stained wrappers and stores poorly.

Should you cut off garlic scapes?

Yes, on hardnecks — it is the single most effective thing you do all season. In June every hardneck plant sends up a round, smooth stem that grows straight and then curls into a loop. Leave it and the plant spends energy there instead of in the bulb. Both the RHS and US extension services recommend removing it as soon as it forms.

When and how

Wait until the scape has made one full curl, then take it before it straightens — once straight it turns woody and bitter. In zone 5 that is usually mid to late June. Snap or cut it as low as you can reach without damaging the top leaves; a torn leaf is one less wrapper on the finished bulb.

What to do with them

Scapes are a crop in their own right and taste milder than the clove, somewhere between green asparagus and leek. Fry them in butter, blitz them into pesto, pickle them or grill them whole; they keep two to three weeks in the fridge. One trick growers use: plant a small extra patch at 7–8 cm (3 in) spacing with the smallest cloves, purely for scapes, leaving the bulb crop untouched.

Left to finish, the scape produces no true seed but a head of tiny bulbils, often hundreds per stem. They can be planted, but take two to three years to reach full bulb size — a cheap way to bulk up a favourite variety, not a way to have garlic next summer.

How do you know when garlic is ready to harvest?

This is where most harvests are lost, and the signal is simpler than it is usually made out to be. Every green leaf corresponds to one wrapper layer around the bulb, and when a leaf dies back that layer goes with it. Harvest is a balance: wait too long and there are no wrappers left, the cloves split apart in the ground and the bulb stores badly; lift too early and they have not finished filling.

University of Minnesota Extension frames the rule this way: harvest when the lower leaves have browned and about half of the upper leaves are still green — in practice four to six green leaves left. Dig a test bulb when you think the moment has come. If you can feel distinct cloves through the skin, the whole row is ready; if the bulb is still smooth and undivided, cover it back up and wait a week.

Lifting

Harvest on a dry day. Loosen the soil with a fork 15 cm (6 in) out from the row and lift from underneath — never pull the plant up by the foliage, because the neck breaks easily and a broken neck means a bulb that cannot be stored. Brush off loose soil by hand; do not wash or scrub the wrappers. Leave foliage and roots on and keep the bulbs out of direct sun — freshly lifted garlic scalds within an hour in July sun, and scalded tissue rots in storage.

The bed comes free in July, mid-season, leaving plenty of time for a second sowing of lettuce or fall radish — and under glass it is often exactly when the plants in the guide on how to grow cucumbers need more room.

Curing, braiding and storage

Curing decides whether the garlic lasts three months or ten. It cannot be rushed or skipped.

Curing

Hang the plants in bunches of eight to ten, or lay them loosely on racks, somewhere airy and shaded — a garage, carport or shed. What matters is moving air, dryness and no direct sun, ideally 20–25 °C (68–77 °F). University of Minnesota Extension gives three to four weeks, the RHS two to four depending on weather. The bulb is cured when the neck is dry and stiff all the way down, the wrappers rustle like paper and the roots feel like stiff straw. Squeeze the neck just above the bulb — if it gives at all, it is not finished.

Trimming and braiding

Trim the roots to about 5 mm (1/4 in) and the stem to 2–3 cm (1 in) above the bulb if you are storing in crates or nets; leave it full length to braid. Pull off the outermost dirty wrapper, but no more — every layer you remove shortens storage life.

Only softneck garlic braids, since hardneck stalks are woody. Braid while the foliage is still slightly pliable, about a week into curing. It is an ordinary three-strand plait with a new bulb worked in at every turn; twelve to fifteen bulbs per braid is about right.

Storage

Garlic wants dry, airy, room-temperature conditions: 15–20 °C (60–68 °F) at 50–70 % relative humidity, in a net, basket or open crate.

Avoid the 4–10 °C (40–50 °F) band. That is precisely the temperature that breaks dormancy and triggers sprouting — the same vernalization mechanism you used in the fall, now working against you in the pantry. The fridge is the worst possible place for whole bulbs, and sealed bags or jars give you mould within weeks. Expect four to eight months from hardnecks, eight to twelve from softnecks. A sprouting bulb is still usable; just remove the green shoot from the centre of the clove.

Can you save your own cloves for next year?

Yes, and it is one of garlic's best features — you never have to buy seed stock again if you handle selection properly. Set aside the largest, healthiest bulbs at trimming, before they reach the kitchen. Big bulbs hold big cloves, and a big clove makes a big bulb next year. Do it the other way round and the crop gets worse every season. About a fifth of the harvest goes back into the ground, roughly four or five bulbs per square metre.

Garlic is propagated vegetatively, so every generation is a clone of the last. Your strain slowly adapts to your soil — after five or six years it often outperforms newly bought stock of the same variety. But viruses accumulate. If bulbs shrink year on year despite identical care, if leaves develop pale lengthwise streaks, or if more bulbs rot in storage, buy in fresh certified stock — every five to seven years is a reasonable routine.

Never replant a bulb that was diseased, soft or mouldy — not even its apparently healthy cloves. That is exactly how white rot and nematodes move into a bed.

Why shouldn't you plant supermarket garlic?

It is tempting, because it costs a fraction of seed garlic. Three reasons not to.

Wrong climate. Supermarket garlic comes mostly from Spain, Argentina, California and China, and is almost entirely softneck stock bred for mild winters. University of Minnesota Extension states plainly that grocery store garlic is primarily softneck and does not do well there.

Sprout inhibitors. Garlic meant to sit on a shelf for months is often treated so it will not sprout. Some cloves never start; the rest start unevenly.

Disease risk. The serious one. University of Maryland Extension writes it flatly: never plant garlic from a grocery store, because it may be a symptomless disease carrier. White rot and stem nematode both travel on a clove that looks perfectly healthy, and white rot's resting bodies then sit in the soil for a decade or more. Saving a few dollars on seed garlic can cost you a whole bed for ten years.

Certified seed garlic is inspected, size-graded and true to variety. The same reasoning applies to every vegetatively propagated crop — it is why you buy certified seed potatoes rather than supermarket ones, as covered in the guide on how to grow potatoes.

Common mistakes

• Planting in spring without chilling. Without one to two months below 10 °C (50 °F) the bulb will not divide and you get a round.
• Planting too shallow in a cold zone. A clove 2 cm (3/4 in) down gets heaved out by February frost. Go to 5 cm (2 in), or 8 cm (3 in) on light soil in zones 3–4.
• Using supermarket garlic. Wrong varieties for a cold climate, often treated against sprouting, and a genuine risk of introducing white rot.
• Feeding nitrogen after early May. Late nitrogen delays bulbing and produces soft bulbs that will not store.
• Leaving the scape on. Hardnecks then put energy above ground instead of into the bulb, and you lose both size and a crop of scapes.
• Harvesting too late. Once all the foliage has yellowed the wrappers have broken down and the cloves split apart in the soil. Lift with four to six green leaves left.
• Rushing the cure. A bulb put away while the neck is still soft moulds from the inside. Three to four weeks in airy shade is the minimum.
• Growing alliums in the same ground year after year. Garlic, onions, leeks and chives share diseases; leave three to four years between them.

Frequently asked questions

When should you plant garlic?
Plant in fall, one to two weeks after the first killing frost, when the soil has cooled to around 10 °C (50 °F). Plant at least three to four weeks before the ground freezes so the clove can root. In zone 3 that means mid-September to mid-October, in zones 4–5 late September through October, and in zone 6 October into November.

How deep should you plant garlic cloves?
Set each clove pointed end up with the flat basal plate down, 5 cm (2 in) from the tip to the soil surface. On heavy clay 3–4 cm (11/2 in) is enough, since cloves rot more easily there. On light soil in zones 3–4 go to 8 cm (3 in), which reduces frost heave over winter.

Can you plant garlic from the grocery store?
It is strongly discouraged. Supermarket garlic is almost always softneck stock from mild climates, often treated against sprouting, and above all it can be a symptomless carrier of white rot and stem nematode. White rot's sclerotia survive a decade or more and make the bed unusable for any allium.

What is the difference between hardneck and softneck garlic?
Hardneck garlic sends up a scape in June and makes four to ten large cloves in a ring around the woody stalk. It is hardier, hotter and stores four to eight months. Softneck makes no scape, produces ten to twenty smaller cloves in layers, braids well and stores eight to twelve months, but is happiest in zone 6 and warmer.

Should you cut garlic scapes off?
Yes, on hardnecks. Take the scape once it has made one full curl but before it straightens, usually mid to late June in zone 5. The plant then puts its energy into the bulb instead of into flowering. Scapes are a fine crop in themselves — mild garlic and asparagus, keeping two to three weeks in the fridge.

How do I know when garlic is ready to harvest?
Harvest when the lower leaves have browned and about half the upper leaves are still green — four to six green leaves left. Each green leaf equals one protective wrapper around the bulb. Dig a test bulb: if you can feel distinct cloves through the skin, the row is ready. Wait too long and the cloves split apart in the ground.

How long does homegrown garlic keep?
Hardnecks keep four to eight months and softnecks eight to twelve, provided they were cured properly for three to four weeks. Store dry and airy at 15–20 °C (60–68 °F) in a net or basket. Avoid 4–10 °C (40–50 °F), the range that triggers sprouting — which is why the fridge is the wrong place for whole bulbs.

Can you grow garlic in a raised bed or container?
Yes, and a raised bed is the better option on heavy clay because drainage improves so much. Plant on a grid with 15 cm (6 in) between plants. A container needs at least 30 cm (12 in) of depth and real drainage holes, and must stay outdoors all winter so the cloves get their cold, though sheltered enough that the rootball does not freeze solid for weeks.

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