11/06/2025
How to Grow Garlic 🧄
You can order seed garlic, use organic garlic from the grocery store, or save your own year after year. I’ve done both — but ordering from a trusted seed supplier is the best way to ensure disease-free bulbs and potentially bigger harvests.
✨ Saving your own: Choose your biggest, healthiest bulbs — plant your best to grow your best.
✨ Using grocery store: Organic gives you higher success. Some imported garlic may be treated with sprout inhibitors — look for firm bulbs with intact root plate (the bumpy area where roots form).
Hardneck vs. Softneck – Choose Based on Your Climate
🧄 Hardneck Garlic
• Best for cold climates (zones 3–6)
• Produces garlic scapes (bonus harvest!)
• Stronger, more complex flavor
• Shorter storage life (3–6 months)
🧄 Softneck Garlic
• Best for warmer climates (zones 7–10)
• Stores the longest (6–12+ months)
• Can be braided
• Milder flavor, typically more cloves per bulb
If you’re somewhere in the middle, you can grow either — experiment and see what does best.
Planting Tips:
• Plant in fall, about 4–6 weeks before your ground freezes
• Pointy side up
• Space 4–6” apart, rows about 6–8” apart
• Garlic is a heavy feeder, so start with compost-rich soil
🔥 Winter is where the magic happens—cold temps trigger bulb formation.
Care Tips:
• Mulch after planting to protect from freeze/thaw cycles and suppress weeds
• When spring growth takes off, top-dress with compost or a natural fertilizer
• Water consistently — garlic likes moisture but not soggy soil
Harvest + Cure:
• Stop watering 2–3 weeks before harvest
• Hang or lay bulbs in a dry space with airflow to cure (about 2–3 weeks)
• Store in a cool, dry, dark place
Once you grow your own garlic… you’ll never go back! It’s so easy and satisfying!!
✨Garlic typically sells out earlier in the season so it’s best practice to order around August/September. A lot of seed companies stock garlic, I personally use over the years with great success.
Have you planted garlic yet this year?
