Planting Garlic
Garlic is typically the last thing we’ll plant in the garden, between Mid October- November. Planting a crop of garlic is simple, but there are a few things you’ll want to know before grabbing your garden trowel.
Photo by Rachel Joy Barhel Photography
When to Plant Garlic
In Ohio, we typically plant garlic sometime between Halloween and Thanksgiving (feel free to plant a bit after Thanksgiving, too, we won’t tell anyone). Garlic is a crop that enjoys a process called stratification, which is a long period of cold, in order to produce well. That’s why we plant garlic in the fall, allow it to overwinter, and then harvest in the summer.
Types of Garlic and Where to Source
We recommend sourcing garlic for planting, also called Seed Garlic from an organic, local source (we got ours from Beechwold Farm Market in Clintonville!). We don’t recommend getting your seed garlic from the grocery store, as it has often been treated and may not produce the results you want.
There are two types of garlic: Hardneck garlic and softneck garlic. The seed garlic you purchase at your local nursery or garden center should have labels for the bulbs and additional descriptions for flavor, variety, etc.
Harneck garlic is hardier against extreme winters, has a stronger flavor, and produces garlic scapes.
Softneck garlic is better suited to places with mild winters, has a more mild flavor, and doesn’t produce garlic scapes. Softneck garlic can also be braided into those lovely braided garlic bunches you see at farmer’s markets.
We typically plant hardneck garlic because we love garlic scapes! Garlic scapes are the curly little stems that emerge from the garlic plant in the spring, and a best-kept farmer secret. These stems must be pruned back but- good news!- they’re edible and super delicious. We love to use them as a replacement for regular garlic or chives in recipes.
If you’re planting a large amount of garlic, we recommend laying out the cloves before planting.
How to Plant Garlic
Planting garlic is very easy and only requires 2 steps if you already have a sunny, well-draining raised bed or garden patch prepped:
Gently break apart your garlic bulbs into individual cloves. Avoid peeling the papery layers off of the bulb, as these help protect the clove from insects and critters during the winter.
Plant each clove in your garden bed or raised bed around 6 inches apart. Plant these little cloves deeply (at least 3 inches deep!) with the pointy end of the clove facing up towards the sky.
Seriously, it’s that simple!
Garlic Maintenance
Garlic do need that stratification period to produce, but they still benefit from a little protection from the harshest temperatures.
We recommend mulching your garlic patch with a thick layer of straw or mulch after planting to give them a little extra protection. No need to cover your garlic crop with row cover!
Be sure to water your garlic patch just as you would any of your other crops. Full sun and consistent watering practices will help your garlic grow into big, beautiful (and delicious) bulbs.
Harvesting Garlic
Garlic should be ready to harvest in the summer- a good rule of thumb is to wait until the leaves of the plant have started to turn yellow, but before the plant is totally dried up.
Gently dig the bulbs up (take care that you don’t nick them with your garden trowel or garden fork!) and place them somewhere to cure, or sit in a cool, dark, ventilated spot for a few weeks. This curing process, which also happens with sweet potatoes, potatoes, and other crops, helps improve flavor and prepares the bulb for storage better.