Vegetable Grow Guides
How to Grow Organic Garlic from Cloves
Allium sativum
About Garlic
Garlic is planted as cloves, not seed. Fall planting is standard in most of Zones 3–8: cloves root before winter and make larger bulbs. Softneck stores longer; hardneck makes edible scapes.
When to Plant
Plant cloves 4–6 weeks before the ground freezes in fall. In mild-winter Zones 9–10, plant in late fall to early winter. Spring planting works in a pinch but yields smaller bulbs.
How to Plant
Break bulbs into cloves the day you plant. Set cloves point up, 2 inches deep, 6–8 inches apart, rows 12–18 inches (about 3–4 plants per square foot — not 16). Mulch 3–4 inches after the ground cools. Days-to-germinate does not apply.
When to Harvest
Cut flowering shoots (scapes) on hardneck types as they curl; they are edible and removing them helps bulbs. Harvest bulbs when the lower ⅓–½ of leaves have browned. Lift with a fork, brush off soil, and cure 2–3 weeks in a dry, airy shade. Then remove dirt, roots, and leaves (or braid softnecks).