Growing Garlic

Allium sativum : Amaryllidaceae / the onion family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
                P P    

(Best months for growing Garlic in USA - Zone 5a regions)

  • P = Plant cloves

September: Garlic can overwinter. Cover with a good layer of mulch . In areas where frost persists into March/ April, expect to harvest your garlic in June/July.

October: Garlic can overwinter. Cover with a good layer of mulch . In areas where frost persists into March/ April, expect to harvest your garlic in June/July.

  • Easy to grow. Plant cloves. Best planted at soil temperatures between 50°F and 95°F. (Show °C/cm)
  • Space plants: 4 - 5 inches apart
  • Harvest in 17-25 weeks.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Beets, Carrots, Cucumbers, Dill, Tomatoes, Parsnips
  • Avoid growing close to: Asparagus, Beans, Brassicas, Peas, Potatoes

Your comments and tips

02 Mar 23, Elizabeth (Australia - temperate climate)
new to growing garlic. do I fertilise the soil prior or is it not necessary ? thank you =)
03 Mar 23, (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Depends on the quality of your soil now. If fairly rich no need for it. Or let them grow to say 15cm and if looking a bit weak give some fertiliser. A clinched handfull to 8-10l of water.
10 Feb 23, Jorel Neville (USA - Zone 7b climate)
Which is best, hard neck or soft neck in zone 7b? Charlotte area
29 Jan 23, marco (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
i am getting my beds ready for my garlic crop .i live on the gold coast Queensland .i will be planting first week of march .i am after glen large garlic .has anyone have any idea whare i can pick some up without the postage costs ...
12 Feb 23, marco (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
i went to the farmers markets local ....some stall holders just sell !!! they do not know too much about the product they sell ...i did eventually find a market Gardner grower and we started chatting on garlic .....so i ended up buying italian purple garlic because they have their plot not too far from my local area. nice !! ....elephant garlic is a leek family ..so i picked up them too ....any way if u want to grow local it is worth the trouble to chat with people .at the end the outcome is greater reward when you go home with what u want ...ps,i also ended up with tomato from italy ...so i dry them use the seed ....they smell fantastic ....
27 Jan 23, Michelle (USA - Zone 7a climate)
I have some German garlic that I really need to plant. Is it too late to plant it in a raised bed in my Zone 7a right now? Still have about 8 to 10 weeks of 20 to 30 degree nights ahead. Thanks!
07 Jan 23, Alan Kuchas (USA - Zone 3b climate)
I’m in zone 3a-3b. In your note for planting garlic , it suggest planting in APRIL? I always plant in October for next years harvest in aug-Sept. if I plant in April will I get bulbs in the Fall?
23 Jan 23, Anonymous (USA - Zone 9b climate)
Have read, plant in the shortest daylight hours and harvest in the longest hrs of sunlight.
15 Dec 22, Keith Moses (Australia - temperate climate)
I have just purchased some garlic which is sprouting shoots. As it is december in Brisbane, is there any point in planting these cloves?
29 Jan 23, marco (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
my garlic has sprouted from last year's crop .late december jan .i live on the gold coast .i have no idea if they will be any good . i will let u know in a years time ....haha .
Showing 81 - 90 of 915 comments

David, I also live in Zone 10A but in California (hot and dry, average 10 inches of rain per year), and please IGNORE the Aussie who thinks we do not check our Zone 10A recommendations. I have been container gardening here for a couple years and am still learning, with notable mistakes being not knowing correct planting/harvesting times (I now use this website over anything on a seed package), overcrowding, and overwatering. I have successfully grown garlic in Zone 10A, from store bought garlic cloves that were sprouting tiny green shoots, and they produced but the heads and cloves were only about half the size as the original store-bought, which might be caused by the climate, or more likely from be the mistakes I was making trying to grow new things like crowding, overwatering, and not knowing when to plant or harvest. Anyway, give growing garlic a try and my best advice is to avoid overwatering. I had a lot of cloves rot instead of growing and I think it was because of overwatering. After doing more research I'm trying to grow garlic again by planting some in NOV, and some in DEC, and really monitoring the watering. Even though my garlic was half sized, it still tastes great, so I would rather have half sized garlic I can grow myself than not growing garlic.

- Dave in California Zone 10A

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This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. Gardenate is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department. The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.
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