Learn how to grow garlic and find out everything about harvesting garlic and storing it correctly!
Garlic is one of my absolute favorite crops. Not only is it an incredible culinary and medicinal plant, but it’s also easy to grow, hardy, and stores well for many months. When I have ample garden bed space, I like to grow enough garlic to supply my family’s kitchen and livestock needs for an entire year.
This post will walk you through the basics of growing, storing and harvesting garlic, and has dozens of links for additional reading!
How to Grow Garlic
When Should I Plant Garlic?
I think of garlic as a “school year” crop – I plant it in the fall and harvest it when school’s out for the summer.
Garlic bulbs are grown from cloves. Each clove will produce one new garlic plant/bulb. You can save the biggest and best of your cloves from the previous year, or purchase “seed” garlic for planting.
In the fall, usually around late September or early October, I prepare a few beds in a sunny location by lighting digging in a bit of compost. I space each garlic clove about 6 inches apart, and push them into the soil about 4 inches deep, with the root side down. Then I lightly cover the entire bed with loose straw.
In more mild climates, you will find that garlic sprouts in the autumn, grows a few inches tall and overwinters at that height, whereas in colder climates (for instance, here in Vermont), your garlic may not sprout until early spring.
What Varieties of Garlic Should I Plant?
I like to plant a mixture of two types of garlic: Hardneck and Softneck.
>> READ MORE: Hardneck vs. Softneck Garlic: The Differences You Need to Know
Just like its name suggests, Softneck garlic has a more flexible stalk, allowing it to be braided for storage. It typically keeps longer, but grows better in more mild winter conditions. Inchelium Red and Nootka Rose are two of my favorite varieties.
Hardneck garlic is particularly hardy, and many say more flavorful. It produces scapes, or flower stalks, in the spring time, which are removed from the plant to produce larger bulbs. When I was first learning to plant garden, my mentor referred to Hardneck garlic as “Easy Peel,” as the cloves are quite easy to unwrap. Music is one of my favorite hardneck varieties.
One of my favorite resources for growing garlic is this book, Growing Great Garlic. For more information on how to grow garlic:
How to Plant Garlic
Planting Garlic
Planting Garlic in the Fall Garden
In the Garden …. Garlic
How to Plant Garlic
Demystifying Hardneck and Softneck Garlic
How to Grow Garlic
How to Plant and Grow Garlic
Garlic Planting Time
When and How to Plant Garlic
Fertilizing and Mulching Garlic Plants
In the spring, the overwintered garlic will once again resume growing rapidly.
In mid-spring, I like to mulch my entire garlic bed with either compost, or bedding material from the barn. I’m not talking about fresh manure, but instead, the goopy, pee-laden straw that gets mucked out of the barn – it makes fantastic mulch!
I simply tuck the mulch around each garlic plant. This gives it a fantastic boost of fertility. You can do the same with compost or another type of well-composted manure. You can also use blood meal, or another organic fertilizer that is high in nitrogen.
What is Green Garlic and How Should I Use It?
If you’re impatiently waiting for your garlic crop and need a jolt of garlic flavor, the immature garlic plants, or green garlic, can be harvested to eat much like a leek or a scallion.
Harvested before the scape and bulb form, green garlic has an intense garlic-onion flavor that is perfect for stir-fries, salad dressings, and other recipes.
Spring Pesto with Chickweed and Green Garlic
Green Garlic: The Harbinger of Spring
How to Remove Garlic Scapes and How to Use Them
Hardneck garlic will produce scapes in the spring. Scapes are the curled, unopened flowers of the garlic. It is important to remove them so the plant can focus on building larger bulbs, and not on flowering.
When the scapes begin to curl, as seen in the photo below, you can remove them by simply snapping the garlic scape off at its base.
Luckily, garlic scapes are completely edible and taste delicious. I like to chop them up in stir-fries and sautes, ferment them, or use them in place of garlic or onion. Here are a few recipes for you to try!
25+ Garlic Scape Recipes (and how to harvest them)
Harvesting Garlic Scapes
10 Ways to use Garlic Scapes
Garlic Scapes: A Hardneck Delight
Lactofermented Garlic Scapes
Harvesting Garlic
Harvesting garlic is one of my favorite gardening chores. Hidden below the soil is a garlic bulb, but until you dig it up, you don’t know exactly how big, or how beautiful it will be!
When Should You Harvest Garlic?
Typically, garlic takes about 9 months to mature (remember that school year?). A few weeks before your anticipated harvest date, reduce the amount you water your garlic to let the bulbs mature.
Because the garlic bulb, or the crop, is underground, it can be hard to know exactly when to harvest garlic. Too early, and your bulbs will not be completely mature. Too late, and bulbs can begin to rot in the ground, or the protective peel can crack.
I harvest garlic when the bottom 2-3 leaves have turned brown, and the plant has begun to look a bit “spent.” I realize that’s a rather subjective description, but you can usually tell when a garlic plant has finished growing and is ready to harvest. Feel free to pull one plant up out of the ground as a tester.
How to Harvest and Cure Garlic
When harvesting garlic, I use a digging fork to gently loosen the soil around each bulb, and pull the entire plant up by the stalk.
I gently shake off excess dirt, being careful not to damage or bruise the bulb. I then move them into a shady, airy, covered, and dry spot to cure for about two weeks.
After the garlic has cured, I gently remove any remaining dirt, trimming the roots to 1/2″ length. Hardneck garlic can be simply trimmed above the bulb and stored in a basket, while Softneck garlic is beautiful when braided (if you know how to French braid hair, it’s exactly the same idea!).
For more information on harvesting garlic, check out these links:
When to Harvest and How to Store Garlic
Harvesting, Storing, Curing Garlic
Curing Garlic for Storage
Harvesting and Curing Garlic
The Garlic Harvest
Storing Garlic
When we lived in Oregon, I stored my garlic year-round under a covered north-facing porch eave. When I needed more garlic, I’d grab a braid or two and bring them into the house to hang in the kitchen.
Here in NE Missouri, the cold winters mean that garlic must be stored indoors. Softneck garlic is stored in long braids around the house, and Hardneck garlic is kept in a basket, and, since it doesn’t store as well, used first.
For more information on storing garlic, check out these links:
Cleaning and Storing Dry Garlic
How to Braid Garlic
Preserving Garlic
While garlic features prominently in many of my food preservation projects, including pickles, canned salsa, and zacusca, I have never preserved it on its own.
However, garlic can be made into a powder for kitchen use, and also ferments well, and you can learn more from one of these great posts:
DIY Garlic Powder
Homemade Garlic Powder
Making Fermented Garlic
Fermented Honey Garlic
Using Garlic for Culinary or Medicinal Purposes
Ah, the most wonderful part – using and enjoying garlic! I love the flavor of garlic; along with an onion, it’s my go-to base for almost every recipe.
We also use garlic medicinally – I particularly enjoy making garlic honey lemonade when I’m sick. Garlic is also a great supplement for livestock. When we raised Alpine dairy goats, we gave each goat one clove of garlic per milking. I’m still trying to convince Creme Brûlée that garlic is a treat worth eating!
6 Ways to Use Garlic in the Garden
Garlic Ear Oil for Humans and Pets
100 Clove Garlic Soup
Green Garlic: A Springtime Treat
Garlic Basil Tomato Salad
Growing and harvesting garlic in your own garden and knowing how to store it correctly will set you up for a year of culinary delight and home remedies.
Want to add more year-round crops to your garden?
Homestead Honey’s Guide to Fall Gardening will teach you how and when to plant cool weather crops so you can enjoy fresh food and save money on grocery bills all year long!
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My garlic is slowly turning green after harvesting. It is usually OK for about a month but then the colouring starts – a bit like potatoes. Can you please suggest what I might be doing wrong.
Hi Monica,
It sounds like your garlic is being stored in a space that is too bright or too warm. Look for a dark, cool, dry location for your garlic. Hope that helps!
What do you mean you use it as a dietary suplemeny for your goats? Interesting, I’ve never head of that!
We gave our goats a bit of alfalfa pellets and COB each day as a milking snack, and on top we’d sprinkle a bit of kelp and a clove of garlic. They were also allowed to forage in the forest, so I can’t pinpoint one exact source of health, but they were very healthy goats!!
Pinned this post too as its Spring in Australia, so my garlic is growing beautifully….I was just wondering the other day when I should harvest it. You answered that for me Terri thank you 🙂
Great to hear! I hope the harvest goes well!
Great post. Garlic is one of my favorite things to grow, but what I do is really small-scale – I plant a small number of cloves and then use the green leaves in salads. My family loves it, the leaves have a delicate garlicky flavor and are as good an addition as green onion.
That sounds delicious! It’s such a versatile plant!
You make this look so easy! I’ve tried growing garlic by putting the cloves in dirt in a windowsill pot before, and usually the cloves sprout and then simply disintegrate, making garlic scented dirt with a dead sprout on top. Do they need a certain level of moisture or dryness?
Also, in regard to storing garlic. If I let mine sit for about a month it will start sprouting. How in the world do you keep yours for a whole year without that happening?
I’d love to grow it, but it won’t grow. Unless I’m trying to store it, then it grows happily. Some of your wisdom would be much appreciated!
Hi Taryn,
I’ve never grown garlic indoors, but my guess is that it is too warm for the garlic in your house. Typically, you’ll plant garlic when the weather cools, and harvest it before summertime. DO you have access to an outdoor garden space?
Also, the type of garlic that you plant will really dictate the storage quality and even the appropriateness for planting. I would suggest NOT purchasing a head of garlic from the store, but rather getting seed garlic or purchasing from a local farmer. You want garlic with good storage qualities and seed garlic that is free of disease (which might be another reason your garlic is rotting).
Finally, the softneck garlic will generally store longer than hardneck, so if you want long term storage, see if you can find some softneck garlic! Good luck!
What about watering? Do you water garlic often? When do you stop watering?
I plant garlic in the fall, so it gets watered all winter long by snow! If it’s a dry fall, I might water it once or twice before mulching with straw, but then I pretty much forget about it until harvest time. It generally rains in the spring, so I try to wait until I have a window of a few days of sun/breeze to harvest and cure the garlic. In our climate, it really is that easy. But my father-in-law has grown garlic in Arizona, and it needs more tending.
Thanks for the information, especially your description about the differences between the hard and soft neck varieties – something I have never been clear on before.
My question and concern is about storage. We live in Virginia with high humidity, do you experience high humidity where you are and do you have recommendations?
Thanks!
Michelle
Hi Michelle,
Humidity could be a concern – there might be mold growth. My first suggestion would be to ensure that your garlic cures and dries completely before storing. Whatever the driest area of your home is, put it there and check on it frequently.
Great info. Wanted to share another site that shows how to braid garlic. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EIzZ3hAn9s Similar. I did it for the first time and it turned out beautifully. Looks good enough to eat! I’m thinking that there might be a market for braided garlic since it’s so easy to grow and makes an interesting display item. And a great gift for cooks and garlic lovers. Thanks Teri.
Thanks Karen! There definitely is a market for braided garlic, and one of these days I’m going to grow a whole field. A friend of mine just grew 500 garlic plants. I can’t even imagine what he’ll be doing with all of them (all hardneck, so not good for braiding).