Learn how to grow garlic at home and grow bigger bulbs and cloves with excellent flavor that will last for almost a year in your kitchen!
Like tomatoes and blackberries, homegrown garlic offers larger bulbs, with larger cloves and excellent flavor!
Garlic tastes great in chili and stuffed pork loin, and it’s been one of the most popular herbs for centuries. It’s like the rockstar of the herb world!
Even way back in ancient Greece, folks were using garlic for all sorts of things, not just in the kitchen.
How to Grow Garlic
Garlic Varieties
There are several varieties of garlic, with the main types being softneck and hardneck.
Softneck garlic, like Artichoke, Inchelium Red and Silverskin do better in warmer climates. They’re stems are soft and can be braided for beautiful hanging storage.
Hardneck garlic stems are a hard stalk. Hardneck varieties include: Porcelain, Rocambole, Purple stripe, Marbled purple and Glazed purple stripe hardneck garlic varieties thrive in cold climates.
Where To Plant Garlic
Plant garlic in a well draining new area, that was not previously used to grow garlic. Garlic will det diseased, or rot in the ground if it gets soaked in water, so make sure it is a well draining area.
When To Plant Garlic
The best time to plant garlic is in the early fall, a month – a month and a half before it starts to freeze. In zone 6b, where I live, typically late early October, allowing the cloves to establish roots before the ground freezes.
In warmer climates, you can opt for early spring planting.
Before you plant, check out this resource! Just enter your zip code and it will give you the best time to plant in your area!
Fall Garlic Planting
In mid-fall, plant garlic in a sunny spot with well-drained fertile soil. Plant garlic cloves blunt or root side down four to six inches apart. Make garlic rows at least 1 feet apart, then cover with a couple inches dirt.
In Northern areas, cover beds with six inches of mulch for cold weather protection. Your mulch will help prevent garlic roots from being damaged from freezing & thawing.
Garlic that is planted in the fall will begin growing in late fall – early spring.
Spring Garlic Planting
In the spring, plant garlic cloves as early as your can work the soil. This should be about the same time period as onion sets.
Preparing your Garlic Bed
Choose a well-drained soil with good drainage and plenty of organic matter. Garlic prefers fertile soil with a pH around 6.5. To improve soil quality, add well-rotted manure or compost. Ensure there’s good air circulation by spacing the cloves 4-6 inches apart within rows and leaving about 12 inches between rows.
Planting & Care
First, separate the garlic cloves. Plant garlic cloves pointed end up, about 2 inches deep in loose soil and 4 to 6 inches apart.. Cover them with 1-2 inches of soil.
Make sure that each row of garlic is one foot away from the other. Water them well, with an inch of water per week until the ground freezes.
Garlic Plant Care
Mulch your garlic bed with grass clippings or straw to retain moisture, regulate soil temperatures, and deter weeds.
After garlic leaves start growing, you should add organic fertilizer, to feed garlic plants and help them grow. 1-2 teaspoons of high-nitrogen fertilizer, like blood meal or Osmocote, can be gently worked into the dirt by each garlic plant.
After that, add another layer of mulch to keep moisture in and weeds out!
Remove garlic scapes (flower stems) in late spring to direct energy toward bulb growth and ensure a milder flavor. Hardneck garlic varieties grow a flower stalk with small bulbils…. You’ll want to cut the flower stalk, or garlic scapes off.
Cutting off the flower stalk makes sure that the garlic bulb itself grows big instead of the flowers. Garlic scapes are delicious and spendy at farmers markets, so enjoy them!
Disease: Keep an eye out for fungal diseases like white rot and treat right away, if necessary.
In June your garlic plants will stop growing new leaves, and they’ll and start to grow bulbs. This is when you remove mulch, and stop watering… You want to stop watering because garlic stores much better when you let the dirt around garlic bulbs dry out!
In cold climates, a chilling period during winter is crucial for bulb formation.
When To Harvest Garlic
Usually you harvest garlic from the middle of July through August, but it differs for each climate… Typically in late June for spring-planted garlic or early summer for fall-planted garlic.
You know it’s time when the garlic plant leaves turn brown… Don’t leave garlic bulbs in the ground too long after leaves turn brown! If your garlic bulbs are left in the soil too long, they will separate and won’t store good.
Carefully dig garlic bulbs out of soil using a garden fork. Let garlic bulbs dry… Cure them for several weeks in a dry place with good air circulation. Don’t let your garlic get wet after this point, because they won’t store well if they do. If it’s going to rain, bring them in!
Once cured, you can rub off any excess soil and store garlic in a cool, dry, dark location.
Garlic Storage
If you grow the soft-neck garlic, you can leave the stems on and braid them into a beautiful hanging garlic braid! These can be stored in your kitchen for use, or in a root cellar!
Once your garlic is dry, you can store them beautifully by braiding the leaves. You can also store them un bunches or cut off the stems. You can hang bunched or braided garlic in a cool dry area, or store bulbs with stems removed in a tub. Garlic should be stored in a cool, dry area with good airflow… And, ENJOY!
Storing hardneck garlic: Remove stems and hang your garlic bulbs in a cool, dark, well-ventilated area like a basement or garage. Use wire baskets or mesh bags to allow for good air circulation. I like the hanging method best. But you can also store them in a basket or box, as long as it’s in a cool dark place… Like a root cellar!
Seed Saving: Save some of your largest cloves as seed garlic for the following year’s crop!
Learn More about garlic benefits & how to grow at home garlic at home in how to start a garden!
1 comment
Lionel
Hi there, just wanted to say, I liked this garlic garden post.
It was very helpful. Keep on posting!