Growing Garlic

Allium sativum : Amaryllidaceae / the onion family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
                P P    

(Best months for growing Garlic in USA - Zone 5a regions)

  • P = Plant cloves

September: Garlic can overwinter. Cover with a good layer of mulch . In areas where frost persists into March/ April, expect to harvest your garlic in June/July.

October: Garlic can overwinter. Cover with a good layer of mulch . In areas where frost persists into March/ April, expect to harvest your garlic in June/July.

  • Easy to grow. Plant cloves. Best planted at soil temperatures between 50°F and 95°F. (Show °C/cm)
  • Space plants: 4 - 5 inches apart
  • Harvest in 17-25 weeks.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Beets, Carrots, Cucumbers, Dill, Tomatoes, Parsnips
  • Avoid growing close to: Asparagus, Beans, Brassicas, Peas, Potatoes

Your comments and tips

Post a comment or question Display Newest first | Oldest first, Show comments for USA | for all countries
22 Aug 11, Brianna Dall (Australia - temperate climate)
Janis you can buy Garlic 'seed' gloves at any good garden nursery. Or if your local green grocery sells local Australian garlic you can just break off the gloves and plant those. It need to be Australian garlic, the import stuff has been treated to not germinate.
Reply or Post a new comment
04 Aug 11, (USA - Zone 5a climate)
what type of slow release organic furtlizer works best for garlic
Reply or Post a new comment
27 Jul 11, Ross Turner (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
It would appear that I am too late to get russian bulbs for planting this year from commercial supplier. If there is anyone near Ipswich in Queensland who is able to spare a couple of cloves, I would be very grateful.
Reply or Post a new comment
13 Jul 11, (Australia - arid climate)
If you have divided the bulb into cloves, plant in the ground with the pointy end upwards about 10 mm from the surface. Bruce
Reply or Post a new comment
11 Jul 11, Kate (Australia - temperate climate)
Trying my first lot of garlic; russian and another darker organic one. Do I need to do anything to the cloves before I plant them?
Reply or Post a new comment
01 Jul 11, Cygnetian (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
I heard an interesting-sounding garlic-growing tip recently (unfortunately just too late for my plantings this year), which was to *not* firm down the soil/compost (or whatever you plant them in) at all, the idea being that the bulbs will grow bigger that way since they *(& their roots, I guess) aren't tightly packed into the growing medium.
Reply or Post a new comment
14 Jul 11, sara drummond (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
I planted some in June but I aim to put some more in. bought the purple argentinean pack from safeways I know it mid July but I will give them a go today and see what happens in Novemver/December I will take your idea on board to keep the soil cover loose ... having fun in the garden sara
Reply or Post a new comment
17 May 11, Greg (Australia - temperate climate)
I planted three varieties of garlic about four weeks ago, including the (large) Russian garlic variety. The other two all came up after about two weeks, but not a single sign of the Russian has come up. Does it normally take longer to come up or have I got a dud batch?
Reply or Post a new comment
02 Jun 11, Greg (Australia - temperate climate)
Thanks all - you were on the money. They've just started to poke their heads up!
Reply or Post a new comment
02 Jun 11, pete (Australia - temperate climate)
eh Greg, I had the same deal. the russians are comming through now after six weeks. Seems a week of frosts spurred them on.
Reply or Post a new comment
Showing 711 - 720 of 916 comments
See comments for all plants

David, I also live in Zone 10A but in California (hot and dry, average 10 inches of rain per year), and please IGNORE the Aussie who thinks we do not check our Zone 10A recommendations. I have been container gardening here for a couple years and am still learning, with notable mistakes being not knowing correct planting/harvesting times (I now use this website over anything on a seed package), overcrowding, and overwatering. I have successfully grown garlic in Zone 10A, from store bought garlic cloves that were sprouting tiny green shoots, and they produced but the heads and cloves were only about half the size as the original store-bought, which might be caused by the climate, or more likely from be the mistakes I was making trying to grow new things like crowding, overwatering, and not knowing when to plant or harvest. Anyway, give growing garlic a try and my best advice is to avoid overwatering. I had a lot of cloves rot instead of growing and I think it was because of overwatering. After doing more research I'm trying to grow garlic again by planting some in NOV, and some in DEC, and really monitoring the watering. Even though my garlic was half sized, it still tastes great, so I would rather have half sized garlic I can grow myself than not growing garlic.

- Dave in California Zone 10A

Please provide your email address if you are hoping for a reply


All comments are reviewed before displaying on the site, so your posting will not appear immediately

Gardenate App

Put Gardenate in your pocket. Get our app for iPhone, iPad or Android to add your own plants and record your plantings and harvests

Planting Reminders

Join 60,000+ gardeners who already use Gardenate and subscribe to the free Gardenate planting reminders email newsletter.


Home | Vegetables and herbs to plant | Climate zones | About Gardenate | Contact us | Privacy Policy

This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. Gardenate is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department. The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.
We cannot help if you are overrun by giant slugs.