Planting garlic in the fall is becoming a quick and easy gardening habit. It only takes a few minutes of hands-on time, and we get to harvest it right before we put some of the extremely frost-sensitive plant starts out in the summer. This makes it a very convenient item to plant because it doesn’t inhibit anything else we like to try to grow. Read on for our recommendations for planting garlic.
These are some of our favorite garlic-forward recipes:
Sourdough Garlic and Chive Pull-Apart Biscuit Bread
Roasted Garlic Sourdough Bread
Roasted Garlic Dip
Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta
Puerto Rican Sofrito
What is garlic?
Garlic has been called both an herb and a spice by homecooks and professionals, but it’s actually a root vegetable. Garlic is in the onion family and adds a distinct flavor to all dishes. When used raw, garlic has a hard and bitter flavor. If garlic is cooked, the flavor becomes sweeter and softer. And if you roast garlic, it has a nutty and sweet flavor. I only started really roasting my garlic in the last year or so, and we are loving the different tastes it brings out in the garlic!
Garlic has health benefits, such as antioxidant properties, and contains vitamins and minerals. It’s an ingredient in many home remedies.
Planting Garlic: What type of garlic should I plant?
Garlic comes in two types, hardneck and softneck. Softneck are used in more southern climates. Hardneck garlic is best in northern climates. We plant hardneck which are not ideal for braiding, but handle our 7a zone better.
Planting Garlic: Where should garlic be planted?
When planting garlic, prepare an area that will receive 6-8 hours of sunlight daily. Garlic loves nitrogen, so add a nitrogen-rich fertilizer and avoid planting it in areas that have recently had plants that also love nitrogen.
Planting Garlic: How to plant it
Garlic can be planted in the fall or the spring, but fall is most recommended. If you are planting in the fall, plant them about a month before the ground freezes, which means about a month before the overnight temperatures are going to be consistently below freezing for 5 or more days. We live in zone 7a and we plant ours in the middle of October through the beginning of November depending on our schedules.
Break apart the garlic bulb into individual cloves. (You can do this step a couple of days ahead of time).
Next, plant the garlic clove root side down (this is the flat side, not the point), about 3 inches beneath the soil. (A good measure for me is that I usually plant seeds and bulbs about twice as deep as they are long.) Plant all the cloves about 6-8 inches apart. We planted about 30 cloves this year. That may sound like a lot but I know that won’t last us even half the year. One day we will have more space, and I will probably try to plant at least triple that!
Garlic does not compete well with weeds, so it’s recommended to cover the area with mulch to help prevent or at least slow down the weeds.
Anywhere from May to June, your garlic will produce scapes, which are the garlic flowers. Removing these will help your garlic grow larger. You can cook with the scapes as a light garlic flavor enhancement to most savory dishes! I’m excited to try some in the spring and share them with you!
So what do you think? Will you try planting garlic this year? Don’t forget to like and save this post and share it with friends!
Thanks for sharing this! I need to get my garlic in the ground, I find it to be one less thing to do in the spring as I’m all excited for my garden!
Totally agree!
thank you for this info! I need to try again in the fall and maybe plant it deeper. I’ve never had a good garlic harvest despite efforts!
I hope you have good luck with it this year!