When to plant garlic
Garlic is planted in fall, not spring. Set cloves out a few weeks after your first fall frost, and ideally four to six weeks before the ground freezes, so roots grow but green shoots barely emerge before winter. Cold exposure is what makes garlic divide into a full head of cloves.
Spring-planted garlic works but usually gives smaller bulbs or single rounds; plant as early as the soil can be worked.
- Plant cloves in fall
- 1–5 weeks after first fall frost
- Spring planting (smaller bulbs)
- 3–6 weeks before last frost
- Frost
- Hardy: tolerates frost
- Soil temp
- 32°F (0°C) or warmer
- Depth
- 2 in
- Spacing
- 6 in apart, rows 12 in · 4 per square foot
- Harvest
- 8–9 months (fall-planted)
Your dates for garlic
Tips for growing garlic
- Plant the largest cloves, pointy end up, 2 inches deep; each clove becomes one bulb.
- Mulch with 4–6 inches of straw after the ground cools, and pull it back in spring.
- Cut off the curly scapes of hardneck garlic in early summer to send energy to the bulb (and eat them).
- Harvest when the lower third to half of leaves have browned.
Choosing neighbours? See companion plants for garlic. Working out how many fit? Use the spacing calculator.
Garlic: common timing questions
Can I plant garlic in spring?
Yes, as soon as soil is workable, but bulbs are usually smaller. Chilling cloves in the fridge for a few weeks first helps.
Can I plant supermarket garlic?
It may grow, but it is often a variety suited to a different climate and can carry disease. Seed garlic from a local supplier is more reliable.