How to Plant Garlic in Fall

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I haven’t paid for garlic in years! It started with one order of seed garlic.

Every clove you plant this fall grows into a full head next summer. Save your biggest cloves to replant each year, and you never have to buy it again. Garlic takes about 9 to 10 months from planting to harvest. About as long as a baby. While the garden sleeps under the snow, the roots are busy.

When to plant garlic

I plant in October or early November, before the ground freezes. That’s in northern Utah, zone 6. If your winters come earlier, plant earlier. If they’re mild, you can go later.

If the tomatoes are done and the nights are cold, it’s garlic time.

Hardneck or softneck?

If you have cold winters like we do, plant hardneck. It thrives in the cold, and it gives you scapes in early summer, which is a bonus harvest. Softneck is the kind you can braid. It’s better suited to milder winters.

Buy seed garlic, not grocery store garlic. Pre-order in summer, because the popular varieties sell out by fall. I buy from Johnny’s Selected Seeds and from Burpee. When you shop, check that the description says hardneck.

My favorite for big bulbs is Metechi. The full list of what I grow is in the free guide at the bottom of this post.

How I plant garlic

1. Prep the soil. Garlic loves rich, loose soil. I add compost and a little triple 16 fertilizer, then use my hoe to make planting rows.
2. Break apart your bulbs. Separate the cloves gently and keep the papery skin on each one. The skin protects the clove from rotting while it roots in.
3. Pick the biggest cloves. Bigger cloves grow bigger bulbs. Cook with the little ones.
4. Use the thumb and finger rule. Plant each clove pointy side up, as deep as your thumb is long. Space cloves as wide as your finger is long. Leave 6 to 10 inches between rows. I drag a hoe down the bed to make a row about as deep as my thumb, then pop the cloves in.
5. Cover and tuck in. Backfill the rows. I don’t water unless the forecast is dry. Then I give them a good soak.
6. Mulch deep. Cover the rows with a thick layer of leaf mulch. Straw or small bark chips work too. Mulch keeps them warm, holds moisture, and keeps weeds down.

Free mulch tip: run over your fall leaves with the mower and bag them. Shredded leaves don’t blow away, and they’re exactly what I put on my garlic.

What happens over winter

From the outside, nothing. Underground, quite a bit.

The cloves spend the first few weeks growing roots. Some may poke a green shoot up through the mulch before winter. That’s normal. If the tips turn brown in the cold, leave them. The clove underneath is fine.

Once the ground freezes, the garlic sleeps under the mulch and the snow. That cold is what tells it to make a bulb next summer. Your job is to leave it alone. Don’t dig to check on it. I know.

What comes next

Garlic is one of the first things up in spring. In early summer, hardneck garlic sends up curly scapes. Snip them and eat them. They taste like a garlicky green bean. About 4 to 6 weeks later, usually June or July, it’s time to dig.

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Get my free garlic guide

Everything I know about growing garlic, in one free guide. The 9 varieties I grow, spring care, when to cut scapes, how I cure and store my harvest, and a garlic year at a glance you can stick on the fridge.

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Garlic questions

Can I plant garlic from the grocery store? I don’t. Seed garlic is grown for planting and suited to your climate. Grocery garlic is often a softneck from a mild climate and may not do well through a cold winter.

How deep do I plant garlic? As deep as your thumb is long, pointy end up.

How far apart? As wide as your finger is long, with 6 to 10 inches between rows.

Do I need to water garlic after planting? Only if the forecast is dry. Then give it one good soak.

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More from the garden

• Winter Sowing 101: Why It Works (Even When It Snows!)
• Winter Sowing: A Guide to Gardening in Cold Climates

Something good is always growing.

XO, Carly