Garlic Plant: How to Grow Garlic From Fall Cloves to Cured Bulbs

Plant garlic cloves in fall on your region's schedule, pointed end up, most often 2 to 3 inches deep and about 6 inches apart, and mulch with straw. Cut hardneck scapes as they curl, dig when about half the leaves are brown, and cure the bulbs before storing; curing runs from several days to 4 weeks.

Sources: University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension, University of Minnesota Extension, Iowa State University Extension, Penn State Extension and 11 more. See the sources we used. How we source our guides

Updated October 29, 2026

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Plant garlic cloves in fall, so roots can grow before the ground freezes. Two northern guides time it by frost, usually 1 to 2 weeks past the first killing frost; the calendar windows given elsewhere run from September into December. Set each clove pointed end up, 2 to 3 inches deep and about 6 inches apart (the figures given most often; the planting table below has the full range), then mulch with straw. Dig the next summer, once about half the leaves have turned brown.

Garlic grows from a clove, not from seed: it has lost the ability to make fertile seed. This guide draws on 13 land-grant extension services and a seed company; each fall window below is the one given for its own state, beside the median first fall frost date at one weather station in that state.

Garlic at a glance
Sun	Full sun, at least 6 hours a day; 8 to 10 preferred
How to start	Cloves from seed garlic sold for planting, not grocery bulbs
When to plant	Fall; each region's window is in the table below
Depth	About 1 to 4 inches across the guides, most often 2 to 3; pointed end up
Spacing	3 to 8 inches across the guides, most often about 6
Soil pH	6.0 to 7.0; two guides call 6.0 to 6.5 ideal
Winter mulch	Straw, 2 to 6 inches deep (3 to 4 most often), after planting or in November
Water	About 1 inch of water a week while growing
Days to maturity	250 to 270 from a fall planting by one count; up to 8 months by another
Harvest	May to August, by region; see When it comes, below

When to plant garlic: fall, before the ground freezes

Garlic goes in during fall so the clove roots before the soil freezes and then gets the cold it needs to make a bulb. Give cloves at least 4 to 6 weeks to establish before the ground freezes. The cold matters: cloves need 6 to 8 weeks below 40 F after planting, or two months at 32 to 50 F, before the bulb swells.

Fall garlic planting windows by state, with the median first fall frost date at one station in each
State	Planting window given for that state	Station	Median first fall 32 F
MN	Fall, usually 1 or 2 weeks after the first killing frost	Minneapolis-St. Paul	Oct 18
WI	Late summer or fall, usually 1 to 2 weeks past the first killing frost	Madison	Oct 10
IA	October to early November	Des Moines	Oct 20
PA	Mid to late October	Harrisburg	Nov 1
MD	Mid to late October	Baltimore (BWI)	Oct 31
NC	Late October to November, possibly into December farther south	Raleigh-Durham	Nov 4
GA	Late September through November	Atlanta	Nov 20
UT	Mid-September through early November (late September to November in the same guide's summary)	Salt Lake City	Oct 31
OR, Willamette Valley	September through mid-November	Portland	Nov 19
WA, west	Late fall, November	Seattle-Tacoma	Nov 23
WA, east	September or October, early to mid fall	Spokane	Oct 12

Frost dates are 1991 to 2020 climate normals: by each one, half of all years have seen their first fall 32 F night. Each window is the wording given for its own state; we did not move a window to another region or turn a frost date into a planting date. The Minnesota and Wisconsin windows count from the first killing frost, which neither guide defines; the 32 F median beside them is a different measure, not the killing-frost date, so do not add 1 to 2 weeks to it. For Florida the window is late fall through early winter, with no frost tie.

Our reading of the table. Only the Minnesota and Wisconsin windows are set by frost, and both usually plant garlic after the first killing frost; every calendar window opens before its station's median first fall 32 F date.

Should shoots show before winter? The guides split. Most that address it plant late enough to keep the shoot below ground through the first hard freeze, and shoots usually do not break the soil until spring; one wants the first leaves up before fall freezes. Sprouting in a 50 to 60 F spell is no cause for alarm, and leaves that emerge in a midwinter thaw can tolerate the 20s F, likely show some damage below 20 F, and usually regrow.

Planting garlic in spring

Spring planting works poorly for most garlic because the bulb needs that cold first: without a proper cold treatment, most varieties set out in spring make weak shoots and poor bulbs. Artichoke types, which do not seem to need as much winter cold, are the ones to try, planted as early as you can. Spring cloves generally make smaller bulbs.

Hardneck or softneck garlic: which to grow

Match the type to your winters. Hardneck garlic suits long winters and a short growing season, while softnecks are better adapted to long seasons and mild winters. Some northern guides name cold-hardy softnecks too.

Hardneck vs softneck garlic
	Hardneck	Softneck
Flower stalk (scape)	Yes, a woody stalk	Usually none, though climate can change that
Usual clove count	4 to 12, in one ring around the stalk	10 to 40; 12 to 20 for Artichoke and Silverskin; one average given is 7 to 8
Typical room-temperature storage	Only 3 to 4 months	Generally 6 to 8 months, often 6 to 9
Braiding	No, the stalk is stiff	Yes
Climate	The most cold-hardy type	The most adaptable; suited to the South

By state:

Pennsylvania: hardnecks do better, being more cold-hardy than the softnecks used for braiding.
Iowa: suitable hardnecks include 'Music' and 'German Red', and some softnecks, such as 'Susanville' and 'Inchellium Red', suit its colder winters.
Ohio: Rocamboles may struggle in the south of the state and do better in the north.
Georgia: hardnecks can grow but generally prefer cold winters; softnecks can weather erratic southern winters because they bolt less easily.
Florida: softneck Artichoke or Creole types.
Warm winters anywhere: hardneck (stiffneck) garlic needs cold, and where winters do not stay consistently below 40 to 50 F you may chill cloves in a paper bag in the refrigerator for 10 to 12 weeks before planting.

Elephant garlic is a kind of leek, not a true garlic; our guide to growing leeks covers its close relative. This decision flow is our own reading: the winter test is the 40 to 50 F line for hardneck garlic above, and the storage split is the room-temperature figures in the table.

How to plant garlic cloves: depth and spacing

Break the bulb into cloves shortly before planting and set each one pointed end up with the flat base down. Give garlic full sun and loose, well-drained soil rich in organic matter; heavy clay can hold back the bulb. In heavy ground, plant in raised beds at least 10 to 12 inches high and 2 to 3 feet across.

Split the bulb on planting day or a day or two before, not earlier.
Choose the biggest cloves, which generally make the biggest bulbs, and discard any that are bruised or discolored.
Set each clove upright: that gives a straight neck, and a clove planted upside down or sideways makes small or misshapen cloves.
Cover to the depth in the table below, then water the bed right away; in Georgia, fall is one of the driest times of year.

How deep and how far apart to plant garlic: what the guides give
	Range across the guides	Figure given most often
Depth	About 1 to 4 in, some measured to the clove's base, others as soil over its tip; slightly deeper in colder areas	2 to 3 in
Apart in the row	3 to 8 in	About 6 in
Between rows	6 to 24 in, or double or triple rows on beds; or 6 in each way	18 to 24 in

Our reading: in a cold garden, lean deep, since shallow cloves are prone to injury in winter and early spring, and slightly deeper planting gives winter protection in colder areas.

Growing garlic in pots

Garlic can grow in a container at least 8 inches deep, with drainage holes near the bottom. Otherwise use the bed rules. Our reading: the pot spends winter outdoors, because the cloves still need their weeks of cold before they bulb.

What to plant with garlic

Keep garlic away from beans: beans with garlic or onions are on one extension list of pairings that can raise pest or disease problems. Rotation gets more weight: skip ground that grew onion-family crops recently; a full rotation keeps alliums out for 3 to 5 years. The companion planting chart grades how strong the evidence behind each pairing is.

Garlic pests and diseases

Many garlic diseases can arrive on planting stock. Garlic is generally pest-free, or its pests are well tolerated, but bloat nematode, once in a bed, cannot be controlled without major treatment. Watch for onion thrips, which bronze or whiten leaves, onion maggots that yellow and wilt plants, and allium leafminer, first found in North America in 2015. The onions guide covers thrips and onion maggots on onions.

Mulching garlic over winter

Cover the planted bed with straw or leaves to even out soil temperature through winter, then pull it back in spring once hard freezes are over. Past that, the guides differ:

How thick. 2 to 6 inches, with 3 to 4 given most often; a 2 to 4 inch layer helps limit frost heaving.
When. Right after planting, or in November. Mulch helps protect bulbs from severe cold; laid for weed control, it goes on once the garlic is up, 2 to 3 inches deep and kept 2 to 3 inches off the stems.
What. Avoid heavy mulches, and take care with wet leaves, fine sawdust or raw manure, which may seal off the soil.
In spring. Rake it off the emerging shoots and leave it between the rows. It can go back once shoots reach about 6 inches, to help curb weeds, and leaving it in place is also fine.

One dissent: some gardeners find unmulched garlic starts growing sooner in spring and makes larger bulbs, though many mulch from planting to harvest.

Spring care: water and feeding

Once growth resumes, keep the bed moist and weeded: about 1 inch of water a week, or a soak that wets the soil to a depth of at least 1 inch each week. The shallow roots are sensitive to drought while bulbs form, roughly late May to mid-July in Wisconsin, and dry soil then means smaller bulbs. Feed at planting and again in spring, when shoots are 4 to 8 inches tall or 3 to 4 weeks after they emerge; some guides add another feeding in May. Late feeding can delay bulbing, so stop by the cutoff for your area: the first week of May in Minnesota, the first week of April in Georgia.

Garlic scapes: when to cut them

Cut hardneck scapes once they start to curl, anywhere from just after curling begins to a half or full curl, and before the stalk straightens and the tip opens on its flower buds. Cut as low as you can without taking a leaf. Scapes appear from mid to late May in Iowa to June in Pennsylvania; softnecks generally do not form one.

Why cut them. Four guides remove scapes so the plant can put its energy into the bulb. Another is more measured: uncut scapes can cost bulb size mainly in poorly fertilized soil and very little in well-fed soil, and some circumstantial evidence suggests a scape left until it turns woody helps the bulb keep longer.

Eating them. Young scapes go into pesto, stir-fries and eggs; trim off the flowery tip first, since it holds pollen. The bulbils at the top can be planted, but they need two or three years to reach a usable size.

When to harvest garlic

Dig garlic in summer once part of the foliage has died back. Too early and the bulbs stay small and keep poorly; too late and the cloves may split out of their skins. The sign varies by guide:

About half the leaves brown.
Lower leaves brown while half or slightly more of the upper leaves stay green; or four to five dry lower leaves and 3 to 4 green upper ones.
40 to 60 percent of the leaves yellowed, out of about six; or one-third to one-half died back.
As soon as the lower leaves begin to yellow: one guide warns that waiting for brown leaves rots the bulb wrappers or loses them.

When it comes. May to June in NC; late May to mid-July in GA, by area; around July 1 in central MD; early to mid-July in PA; usually late June to mid-July in WA; late June to late July in MN.

Stop watering first. Stop about 2 to 4 weeks before harvest, once the tops start to fall over, to keep the wrappers unstained and disease down. Loosen the soil before you lift: some guides dig the bulbs out rather than pull on the stem, while others pull by the shoot once the soil is loose.

How to cure and store garlic

Curing dries the necks and skins so bulbs keep; the guides vary on how and how long. Most dry the plants whole, tops on, somewhere airy and often shaded, for anything from several days to 4 weeks; most that name a temperature say warm, one says cool. Two differ more: one dries the heads for several days away from the sun, then, for longer storage, cures them for 2 to 3 weeks above freezing but no warmer than 40 F, at 75 percent humidity or less; another dries bulbs in the sun for several days, the tops laid over them as cover.

When the necks and skins are dry, cut the tops 1/2 to 1 inch above the bulb, trim the roots close and brush off the soil. Do not wash the bulbs, and keep them whole: separated cloves decline faster. To braid softnecks, work with stems half brown but still pliable.

Garlic storage: what the guides give
	What the guides give
Temperature	Near freezing, 32 to 40 F, in most that give a figure; 45 to 55 F in one; room temperature for bulbs you will replant
Humidity	50 to 75 percent relative humidity; high humidity promotes rooting
Light and air	Dark, dry and well ventilated, at a steady temperature; net bags or open containers, never plastic
Typical keeping time	3 to 9 months in cool storage, or until the next summer's harvest; hardnecks up to 7 months at 32 F; at room temperature, hardnecks only 3 to 4 months and softnecks generally 6 to 8

The guides agree on dry, airy, dark storage and split on temperature: most that give a figure keep garlic near freezing, and one keeps it in a cool room at 45 to 55 F. Several advise against the home refrigerator, where garlic is likely to sprout. Keep bulbs for replanting at room temperature until fall, and save the biggest for it.

Seed garlic and supplies

What you need: seed garlic bought for planting, weed-free straw for the winter mulch, and a garden fork to lift bulbs without bruising them. Order certified, disease-free seed garlic in a type suited to your region. To size an order: a pound of large hardneck garlic holds 6 to 7 bulbs of 6 to 7 cloves each, and the per-pound averages given run from about 40 cloves for hardneck and 45 for softneck to about 50.

What you'll need for garlic

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Truper Spading Fork, 4-Tine, 30-Inch D-Handle
A garden fork to lift bulbs without bruising them.
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Sources we used

We read each page below in October 2026 and kept a saved copy. The garlic figures above all trace to these pages; where the pages disagree, we give the spread of figures or say how they split.

How to grow onions, garlic's closest relative, cured the same way.
How to grow leeks, elephant garlic's kin.
How to grow carrots, also kept under straw in winter.
How to grow spinach, a fall sowing that overwinters.
How to grow kale, a fall crop that takes frost.
Companion planting chart: which pairings have evidence behind them.

Frequently asked questions

When should you plant garlic?

Plant garlic in fall on your region's schedule; the aim everywhere is roots before the ground freezes. The windows given by state run from September into December, and two northern guides usually wait 1 or 2 weeks after the first killing frost.

How deep do you plant garlic?

Set garlic cloves pointed end up and flat base down. The depth given most often is 2 to 3 inches, and the guides range from about 1 inch to about 3 to 4 inches.

Can you plant garlic in spring?

You can, but without a proper cold treatment most garlic planted in spring makes weak shoots and poor bulbs, because it needs cold before it bulbs: 6 to 8 weeks below 40 F, or two months at 32 to 50 F. Artichoke types, planted as early as you can, are the ones to try.

How long does garlic take to grow?

Fall-planted garlic is usually ready the following summer, from May to August depending on region, variety and climate: 250 to 270 days from a fall planting by one count, up to 8 months by another.

Can you grow garlic in pots?

Yes, in a container at least 8 inches deep, with drainage holes near the bottom. Plant on the bed schedule and depth. In our reading the pot winters outdoors, since the cloves still need weeks of cold before they bulb.

Should you cut garlic scapes?

Yes, if you want larger bulbs: most guides that discuss it remove hardneck scapes so the plant can put its energy into the bulb. Cut them once they curl, before the stalk straightens. In well-fertilized soil, though, leaving them costs very little bulb size.

When is garlic ready to harvest?

Garlic is ready once part of the foliage has died back: about half the leaves brown, or lower leaves brown while half the upper ones stay green. One guide digs as soon as the lower leaves yellow. Cut one bulb open first.

Can you plant garlic from the grocery store?

Better not; several guides advise against it. Store garlic is often a softneck from a warmer climate, may be treated to stop sprouting, and can carry disease without symptoms. Buy seed garlic instead.

Garlic Plant: How to Grow Garlic From Fall Cloves to Cured Bulbs