Garlic has emerged as and continues to be one of the hottest trends in home gardening, captivating enthusiasts with its robust flavour, health benefits, and surprisingly simple cultivation process. There are very few savoury recipes that don’t include the delicious addition of garlic, and homegrown garlic has a bolder and better flavour than what you get at the store!
If you’ve ever wanted to cultivate your own Garlic but weren’t sure where to start, you’re in the right place.
In this blog post, we’ll explore essential Garlic planting tips to help you maximize growth and yield, ensuring you have a thriving Garlic harvest right from your garden.
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When is the Best Time to Plant Garlic?
Garlic is known as a ‘long season crop’. This simply means that Garlic takes a long time to grow from a clove to a mature cloved bulb.
Garlic can be planted in either the fall or spring.
Garlic grows largest when planted in autumn, during September or October, where it experiences initial root development and then stops growing as winter approaches.
It then waits for spring temperatures to warm the soil, where it experiences rapid growth and matures in August.
This doesn’t mean that planting Garlic in the spring is a waste; it will grow and realize clove growth but likely will not mature into full, plump bulbs in Zone 3-4 gardens.
Plant Garlic as early as possible in the spring to give it the maximum time the growing season offers. The optimal soil temperatures for Garlic cloves to germinate are between 0-10° C.
Garlic flavour is unaffected by the season it is planted; it does need to cure following harvest.
Related: How to Harvest and Cure Garlic, What are Plant Hardiness Zones & How do They Work?
Garlic Planting Tips
Let’s dig into the details of planting Garlic.
Where is the Best Place to Grow Garlic?
The best location to plant Garlic is in a sunny spot where it will receive at least 8 hours of sunshine.
Areas that offer less sunshine could result in slowed growing and smaller Garlic cloves and heads.
Garlic isn’t fussy about the vessel it is grown in.
Garlic can be grown in the ground, in raised garden beds, and pots, which makes it accessible to anyone with a balcony, porch, deck, patio or large garden!
The planting technique is the same regardless of where it grows.
How to Choose Garlic for Planting
Start with high-quality hard neck garlic varieties and check that the Garlic is hardy for your Plant Growing Zone.
You may use Garlic that has been saved from your own garden crop, or it may be purchased from a reputable source.
Never use grocery store Garlic because it isn’t designed for growing in a garden, and it is likely soft neck Garlic, which will not grow in Plant Growing Zones 3-4.
Choose firm, unblemished Garlic bulbs with snug outer sheaths and wait to separate the cloves until planting time so they don’t dry out after they have been split from the bulb.
Clove size correlates to grown bulb size, so use large, healthy cloves.
How to Prepare Soil for Planting Garlic
Garlic grows best in highly fertile, loose soil.
Garlic can be planted in rows or individually in a checkerboard pattern. I prefer to plant in rows because it takes less time.
Garlic has high nutrient requirements for successful growth, so supplement the soil with extra nutrients.
Compost, worm castings, and bone meal are good supplement choices. These additives can be used alone or mixed.
Combine the soil additives into the bottom of the row or hole before planting the Garlic cloves.
How Deep to Plant Garlic
Plant cloves at a depth that is 2-3 times their width. Mathematically, if the Garlic clove is 2.5 cm (1″) wide, it should be planted 7.5-8.0 cm (2-3″) deep.
If soil supplements are added to the bottom of the row or hole, dig the trench or hole deeper by another 2.5 cm (1″) to ensure that the Garlic will be planted deep enough.
In Growing Zones 3 & 4, it is best to plant Garlic directly in the ground for the greatest insulation through winter.
In my photos and videos, you can see that I’m planting in a raised bed and, for the last 4 years, I have had success, but that may backfire one year because raised beds don’t offer the insulation that the ground does, and if the winter is extremely cold, the Garlic may freeze and die.
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How to Place Garlic in the Soil
Place Garlic cloves into the soil with the pointed tip up at a depth of 7.5 cm (3″) from the top of the soil and 7.5 cm (3″).
The Garlic roots grow from the flat base of the clove.
How to Cover and Water Freshly Planted Garlic
I cover and water the Garlic in two steps.
First, I cover the rows halfway and water them in very well. I poke my index finger into the soil to ensure that the water has penetrated the base of the cloves.
Next, I fill the rows to soil level and water that layer thoroughly.
The final step is to top off the Garlic planting with mulch.
Mulch is a soil covering that helps to maintain moisture levels, insulate the soil, and hold weed growth at bay.
Related: What is Mulch? Making Gardening Magic with Mulch
With fall Garlic planting, I add a 5-7.5 cm (2-3″) mulch layer and spread it evenly.
If you are planting in the spring, there should be signs of germination, with green leaves poking through the soil surface, in 14-21 days.
I recommend waiting for signs of germination with a spring Garlic planting before adding mulch to the soil.
During the active growing season, Garlic benefits from consistent soil moisture, which helps to develop the cloves.
If you’d like to dig deeper into growing Garlic, I have a detailed blog about Garlic called ‘How to Grow Garlic in Alberta & on the Prairies’ with all the dirt on this fascinating vegetable.
Related: Vegetable Planting Chart & Companion Planting Chart
Start Growing Your Own Garlic
Wrapping up our exploration of how to plant Garlic, I hope you feel inspired and equipped to embark on your own garlic-growing journey. With its incredible flavour, health benefits, and straightforward cultivation process, Garlic is a fantastic addition to any home garden. These tips should provide you with a great foundation on growing your own garlic, but if you have questions, please reach out or sign up for my newsletter for more tips!
So gather your cloves and get ready for the rewarding experience of growing your Garlic—your taste buds (and health) will thank you!
More to Explore
- How to Grow Garlic in Alberta and on the Prairies
- How to Grow Great Onions in Alberta and on the Prairies
- A Comprehensive Guide on How to Grow Carrots
- How to Grow Beets in Alberta
- How to Grow the Best Tomatoes in Alberta
© Sharon Wallish Murphy © Gardening with Sharon
