Grow Your Own Garlic

You probably already knew that garlic keeps vampires at bay, but did you also know it deters garden pests, as well? I can't say I've had a Dracula issue before. But I've definitely struggled with cabbage loopers and other creepy crawlies trying to eat my leafy greens. So even if homegrown garlic didn't taste so delicious, I would grow garlic in my garden just to serve as organic pest control.

Garlic is a super easy plant to grow. You basically plant the cloves and then let them work their magic of turning themselves into entire bulbs over the next nine months or so.

Here's how to source and plant your own garlic.

When Is the Best Time to Plant Garlic?

Garlic is typically planted in the fall by cloves. The plants don't actually grow and multiply over the winter. Instead, they establish their roots before the ground hardens with frost. Then, they settle in. Once the temperatures warm and the soil reaches above freezing in the spring, they'll begin to produce greens and form their bulbs underground.

If you're planning to plant garlic this fall, just check out your weather forecast. Make sure you get cloves in the soil before it freezes.

Can You Plant Garlic in the Spring?

If you missed your fall deadline, there's still one more opportunity to grow your own garlic bulbs. It is possible to plant garlic in the spring, though spring-planted garlic bulbs are typically smaller at harvest than fall-planted ones. I planted spring garlic around February of last year and ended up harvesting it about one month after the garlic I'd planted back in November in order to give the bulbs more time to plump up.

To plant garlic in the spring, make sure to buy bulbs from a provider that calls them "spring planting garlic", which means they've chilled the bulbs for you throughout the winter so that they're ready to grow in the spring. Then, you'll plant cloves the exact same as you would for fall-planted garlic.

Where Do You Buy Garlic to Plant?

I order my garlic bulbs for planting from Keene Organics, and I've always had lots of success with them.

If you want to shop locally, I recommend heading to a farmers' market, where you'll find garlic that's used to growing in your particular climate. Ask for organically grown garlic or garlic that's being sold for planting. (Garlic from the grocery store has likely been treated with sprout inhibitor to keep it from growing.)

You probably don't need to buy a ton. A few bulbs go a long way since you'll be breaking them up into cloves.

Select the largest, healthiest garlic bulbs for planting. Give each bulb a squeeze to make sure the cloves aren't soft.

Should You Grow Soft-Neck or Hard-Neck Garlic?

The best type of garlic to grow depends on where your garden is located. Soft-neck garlic is generally grown in places closer to the Equator where the day length stays fairly constant. Hard-neck garlic is planted on opposite extremes of the Equator, as you move further north and south. When I lived in the warmer climate of Houston, I grew soft-neck garlic. I switched to hard-neck when I moved up to Chicago because hard-neck handles cold weather much better.

Soft-neck garlic is said to be a little less flavorful than hard-neck varieties, but it stores really well. Hard-neck garlic produces larger cloves, though there are fewer of them, and it doesn't store as well.

Hard-neck garlic also produces something called scapes, which are tall, thick stems, in the beginning of the growing season. You can actually harvest the garlic scapes and eat them. They're a delicious way to snag the taste of garlic while you’re still waiting on the bulb to form. 

Where's the Best Place to Grow Garlic?

I like to grow garlic in my raised garden beds. Since the part we want to harvest and eat is basically an underground storage unit for the plant, it's important we grow the plant in loose soil that's full of nutrients. A raised bed at least 12 inches tall will give garlic all the space it needs for these bulbs to work their underground magic.

A lot of gardeners devote an entire gardening bed to garlic since it needs to sit there for so long. I plant the majority of my garlic inside beds that are going to grow other things as well. I particularly like to tuck garlic into the corners of every single raised bed. The garlic acts a bit like a bodyguard and protects my leafy greens from pests.

If you prefer to grow garlic in the ground, make sure the area is free of weeds and nowhere close to a tree or large plant whose roots will compete with your growing garlic.

One of the most important considerations is sunlight. Plant garlic somewhere it'll get good midday sun. Bulbs need at least six hours of sunlight a day to grow large and nutritious underground.

Should You Soak Garlic Bulbs Before Planting?

Some gardeners choose to sterilize their garlic since the bulbs you buy can carry disease into the garden. To sterilize garlic, soak the cloves in alcohol for 20 minutes. You could do rubbing alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, or even vodka.

After sterilizing, you can soak your garlic in some fertilizer. Keene recommends diluting fish emulsion fertilizer with water in a bucket and then soaking your garlic cloves overnight.

I've never done the sterilizing or the soaking, and I usually end up with a pretty good garlic yield.

How to Prepare Garlic Bulbs for Planting

Garlic for planting comes to you as a bulb instead of a seed packet. Even though you'll break this bulb up into cloves, the bulb shows you what you'll eventually get from each and every clove you plant—a picture of what's to come.

Garlic bulbs require a little prep work before they're ready for planting. Begin by gently pulling apart the bulb to separate individual cloves. Leave as much of the papery skin in place as possible. This is when you'll soak your cloves in alcohol and/or fertilizer if you choose.

Pull out your largest cloves for planting. The smaller cloves won't produce as large of a bulb, so many gardeners choose not to plant them. You can bring them inside and use them in your kitchen or plant them in a little pot to keep in your kitchen window or on the porch. I grow these small cloves for their greens instead of their bulbs, harvesting the leaves and treating them like scallions.

Step One to Plant Garlic

It's a good idea to do a little soil prep before you tuck those cloves into their new home underground.

Use a hori hori knife or long trowel to dig down 6 to 12 inches and loosen the soil. Remove any weeds and large rocks or pebbles you find.

Add a 2- to 3-inch layer of compost to the top of the planting area to improve drainage and give your garlic plants a nice nutritional boost at the outset.

Step Two to Plant Garlic

Pre-dig all your planting holes using a hori hori knife or a large dibber. Each hole should be about 3 to 4 inches deep. If you're planting with a dibber, swirl it in the soil to make each hole nice and wide.

Typical spacing recommendations for garlic cloves say 6 to 8 inches. I try to leave about 4 to 6 inches between cloves (I use the width of my hand to gauge how far apart I dig each hole), and I typically plant other things like kale, arugula, and spinach around the garlic, within about 4 inches or so. (You know me and angering the plant spacing police.) The leafy greens will grow and send their roots down while the garlic is getting settled.

If you're planting in rows, stagger your next row so that the cloves are planted in windows. Use a planting line or some stakes and twine if you want your rows to be nice and straight.

Step Three to Plant Garlic

Place one clove, tip pointing up, into each hole. Cloves are shaped a bit like little moons. The thin, fragile tip is the top, and the dry, rough bottom is the root. Think flat side down, pointy side up.

Pinch the soil back in place over each clove to cover them up.

Water the planting area gently.

Tips to Care for Garlic Plants

I do a couple things to add to the health of my garlic plants, but for the most part, I just leave them be.

One thing I do is prune the bottom leaves to keep them off the soil. Those are the oldest leaves, the ones most susceptible to pests and disease anyway, especially if they're touching the soil. Once you have a fair number of leaves, it's a good idea to just trim back those lower ones. Make sure you don't cut the center stalk of the plant. (By the way, those leaves you just cut are 100 percent edible and so fresh and delicious.)

I don't mulch my garlic, even in winter. Instead, I prefer to keep the soil around the base of each plant clear of all debris.

Some gardeners are big on fertilizing their garlic plants, but I honestly just add a handful of compost around the base of each plant or a small side dressing of worm castings if I think my plants need extra nutrients (if, perhaps, the stems are flimsy and not thickening up). If you do want to use an organic soil amendment, look for something rich in potassium, rather than nitrogen, to help with root growth. For me, I've found that compost does the trick.

You can water your garlic however you water the rest of your garden. It doesn't need any special attention.

You'll know your plants are healthy if they look nice and green during the growing season and continue to put on new leaves.

It's Garlic Planting Time

It might feel like you have to wait forever before you can harvest your garlic, but just remember that those cloves are doing important work underground. Each one is multiplying itself over and over again. And you don't have to be completely in the dark during that time. For every new leaf that forms up top, you can pretty much bet a new clove has formed below.

I hope this inspires you to plant your own garlic this fall (or spring) to keep pests (and vampires) away from your garden space. May you harvest bulb after delicious bulb after your waiting period is over!