A Comprehensive Guide to Growing Garlic

Summary

Select garlic varieties suited to your climate to ensure healthy growth and plentiful harvests.
Plant garlic cloves correctly for the best results.
Care for your garlic plants with watering, feeding, mulching, and pest control for healthy crops.

National Garlic Day raises awareness of the many uses of this vegetable, which has been seasoning food for centuries. Garlic is one of the common and most used species in the onion family. It is used as a flavor addition to kitchen dishes and also for medical purposes. Growing garlic is a seamless gardening practice. However, if you want to establish this plant quickly, there are a few tricks and tips you should know.

1 Select the Best Garlic Varieties

Grow garlic varieties that are suitable to your climatic conditions

An image of garlic bulbs — Properly stored garlic bulbs

National Garlic Day provides you with an opportunity to grow garlic in your garden when the growing season arrives. But do you know how to grow garlic? If you are growing garlic for the first time, you need to make the right decision regarding garlic varieties.

You should select garlic varieties that are suitable for your soil and climatic conditions and resistant to pests and diseases. There are several garlic varieties that you can introduce in your garden.

Garlic Varieties	Details
Softneck Garlic	Softneck garlic is the most commonly found variety. It's known for its soft, pliable stem and smaller cloves. The softneck variety grows in warm climates, stores well, and has less flavor than hardneck varieties.
Hardneck Garlic	Hardneck garlic varieties have a stiff central stalk (scape) and larger cloves. They grow in colder climates, have a more complex flavor than softneck varieties, and have a shorter storage life.
Creole Garlic	This variety is known for its spicy, pungent flavor and is often grown in warmer climates like the Southern United States.
Purple Stripe Garlic	These varieties are characterized by purple-striped wrappers and typically have a strong, rich flavor. They often have fewer but larger cloves compared to other types. This variety is suitable for growing in any climate, including cold winters.
Silverskin Garlic	Silverskin garlic is known for its long storage life and is often used for braiding due to its pliable stems. It has a mild flavor, small cloves, and grows in warm climates.

Avoid growing garlic cloves from the grocery store. They can be treated with a sprouting inhibitor and can introduce diseases to your garden. Look for garlic cloves from a local grower, as they will likely sell varieties suited to your climate.

2 Choose the Best Location for Planting Garlic

Pay attention to soil and sunlight conditions before selecting your garden

Garlic grown indoors on windowsill — Garlic growing in a container in the window

Garlic bulbs are hardy plants that can grow in a variety of soils. However, if you want to harvest large heads, you need to amend your soil before planting your garlic clove. In addition to soil conditions, you should consider sunlight availability for healthy crops.

Garden Conditions	Details
Soil	The clove prefers well-drained, loamy soil high in organic matter.
Soil pH	Garlic grows in neutral soils with a pH between 6.0 and 7.5.
Temperature	Garlic does well at cool temperatures between 32 degrees and 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
Sunlight	Plant your garlic in a garden where it can get six to eight hours of sunlight daily.

3 Plant Garlic at the Right Time

You should plant garlic cloves in the fall

garlic sets in the ground — Garlic sets in the ground

Do you know how to grow garlic? According to the South Dakota State University Extension, the best time to plant garlic is in the fall. However, you should wait at least one to three weeks after the first frost has passed, and the soil temperature is about 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Growing a garlic clove in the fall gives it time to establish roots before winter.

Alternatively, you can start growing garlic in early spring after the danger of the first frost has passed, and the soil temperature is about 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Ensure you begin with your garlic cloves early so that they can have enough time to mature before the hot summer arrives. However, growing garlic in spring may not produce large bulbs, especially when compared to growing bulbs in the fall.

4 Plant Garlic Cloves Correctly

Learn how to grow garlic on National Garlic Day

Spacing bulbs in a row — Planting bulbs with proper spacing in the garden

Planting garlic in your garden is an ideal undertaking that will supply fresh bulbs for your outdoor barbecue in spring and summer. However, you need to pay attention to your crop for a healthy plant and increased harvests. One of the best ways to grow your bulb is by planting your garlic clove correctly. With easy-to-follow steps, you will plant your garlic cloves properly for a healthy plant.

Steps	Instructions
1	Separate cloves from the biggest garlic bulbs for planting because they have more energy to give your plant a good start. Big garlic gloves are also more resistant to frost damage than smaller cloves.
2	Soak your garlic cloves in a solution of one gallon of water, 1 tablespoon of baking soda, and 1 tablespoon of weed emulsion for at least eight hours prior to planting. Baking soda has antibacterial properties, while seaweed will provide essential nutrients and stimulate growth.
3	Plant your garlic cloves 1 to 2 inches deep and 6 to 8 inches apart, with the pointed end facing up. Water your new garlic plants immediately to start the growing process.

5 Take Care of Your Garlic Plants

Water, fertilize, mulch, and control pests and diseases for healthy plants

Planting your garlic cloves is the start of a long (about nine months) and an exciting journey of taking care of your plants. As an enthusiastic gardener, you should relish this journey while ensuring you incorporate the necessary gardening strategies for healthy crops. Fortunately, taking care of garlic plants is a straightforward process.

How to Take Care of Garlic Plants	Details
Watering	Provide your garlic plants with at least 1 inch of water per week throughout the growing season.
Feeding	According to the Oregon State University Extension, garlic is a heavy feeder that needs regular feeding (every four to six weeks). Side-dress your plants with compost, well-rotted manure, pelleted chicken manure, blood meal, or a quick-release nitrogen fertilizer.
Mulching	Mulch your garlic plants with leaves or wood chips to conserve soil moisture and suppress weeds. Mulching can also help the young plants survive harsh winter conditions.
Disease Control	Control common garlic diseases such as white rot, downy mildew, and basal rot using homemade solutions such as baking soda, lavender oil, and apple cider vinegar.
Pest Control	Control common garlic pests such as onion thrips, western flower thrips, onion maggots, and leafminers using homemade solutions such as eucalyptus oil, vinegar solution, and pepper solution.

Weed your garlic garden to remove weeds in early spring because garlic plants compete poorly with weeds. Remove early spring weeds such as dandelion, chickweed, and deadnettle for a healthy plant.

6 Harvest Garlic at the Right Time

Use the right steps to harvest, cure, and store garlic bulbs

Most of the garlic varieties are ready in about nine months. However, you should not harvest your plants until most of the lower leaves are brown. You should also test whether the garlic cloves are plump and well-formed. Make sure you harvest your garlic when it is ready because leaving it in the soil for too long will cause splitting.

There are several steps you can follow to harvest, cure, and store your garlic bulbs.

Steps	Instructions
1	Harvest your garlic bulbs by lifting them from the soil with a fork. Avoid pulling, as this can damage the stem and cause infection. Do not trim the stem and the roots from the bulbs.
2	Keep the harvested garlic bulbs in a shady and well-ventilated area. Ideally, cure your garlic bulbs at temperatures between 75 degrees and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
3	Allow the garlic stems to wither and the skins to tighten before trimming the stems and roots to about 1 inch from the bulb.
4	Store the dry and cured bulbs in a cool and dry place, preferably in mesh net bags.

Learn How to Grow Garlic During the National Garlic Day

Growing garlic is a rewarding gardening experience because it provides a fresh supply of flavorful bulbs for your recipes. Garlic has also been used for thousands of years for its medicinal properties. You can grow a garlic plant by simply planting a leftover garlic clove in a container. With a few tips and tricks, you will have garlic plants growing in your outdoor garden.