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 10°C and 35°C. (Show °F/in)
  • Space plants: 10 - 12 cm 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

08 Nov 23, (USA - Zone 9b climate)
I live in central California, zone 9b. I plants softneck garlic last year and it did very well. I refrigerated it for 3-4 weeks and then planted in November. Doing the same this year.
28 Oct 23, Kelvan.......Margaret River wa (Australia - temperate climate)
I have successfully grown garlic for several years now with huge success however this year most of my crop has secondary sprouting. I seems that the time their ready for picking in around 4 > 6 weeks most will be lost due to all cloves within the bulb sprouting. PLEASE any thoughts as to what's going on.
15 Nov 23, Ric (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi Kelvan, I haven't had the sprouting problem but after 30 years of growing garlic I have just harvested the worst crop I have ever had, but having talked to fellow growers, they also have experienced lesser quality garlic and some premature sprouting as well. It is worth noting that we have experienced colder temperatures this springtime and below 15 degrees celsius soil temperature whilst bulbing will induce early sprouting. On numerous occasions I have placed garlic in the refrigerator in February to bring on earlier sprouting. I usually plant over 500 cloves each year and some years over 5000 and give the garlic away to people who can't afford the ridiculous retail prices. Of course also to replace the weak quality, low pungency Chinese garlic. I am a great believer in planetry positioning within the universe, it has a large effect on weather and all forms of life and will certainly effect all growth and evolutionary factors. Perhaps next year will be a better one or we might have to plant later as it appears the planet is cooling.
22 Oct 23, Catherine Morritt (Canada - Zone 5a Temperate Warm Summer climate)
Is it recommended to separate the cloves from the bulbs right before plating or to do it a day or two before?
13 Nov 23, Christian (Canada - Zone 7b Mild Temperate climate)
Just remember to only select the largest cloves and eat all the small ones for yourself. The cloves determine the size of the harvested garlic. If you select only the largest cloves then as the garlic grows and the protective outer cloves develop around the centrally planted seed, they will develop to a size that matches the original clove you plant. Small clove = small yield. Large cloves = much larger yield. Being selective about saving only the very best and largest seeds for many different types of plants is going to serve you well. I think my kids are always slightly disappointed that we always have to 'eat the mistakes' while the very best of what we grow is saved as seed for an even better harvest next year. I guess it is the same principle as animal husbandry.
28 Oct 23, (Canada - zone 4a Temperate Warm Summer climate)
Either way.
14 Oct 23, Linda (USA - Zone 9a climate)
I put in my zone and asked about garlic and this response was below the grid: "Not recommended for growing in USA - Zone 9a regions". Now I know that there is a lot of garlic grown in the USA, so don't know why it said that, in fact I used to live near Gilroy. Other web pages say to plant mid Oct. to Dec. Makes me wonder about the advice on this website. Am I reading it wrong?
03 Aug 24, Faithn (USA - Zone 9a climate)
I 've planted garlic in zone 9a several years & they do great. Softneck & some hard necks are fine to plant in fall for Spring harvest. I recently used Keen organics to buy garlic to plant. There are several good distributors on the net. Keen has great advice. Read it. You can grow garlic successfully.
29 Oct 23, Christina (USA - Zone 9b climate)
I’m in 9b, central California and I have grown garlic for a few years. I “plant on the shortest day of the year, harvest on the longest day.” It has worked. Originally I just started with some organic grocery store garlic clusters, but now I save them from one year for the next.
23 Sep 23, Sonya (USA - Zone 5b climate)
I would like to choose 2 types of softneck garlic. Any suggestions on which two to choose? I also heard about elephant garlic. If it will grow in 5B... I may just grow that type. ?????? Undecided!
Showing 11 - 20 of 907 comments

Just to clarify what I think I understand…. If I buy one bulb of garlic and break it apart into individual cloves, I plant each clove and expect to get a growing bulb. Am I one the right track here?

- Rhonda Bowen

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.