How to Plant Garlic in Fall for a Big Summer Harvest

Last updated September 30, 2026

Garlic might be the easiest crop you can grow. You push a single clove into the ground in fall, forget about it over winter, and dig up a whole head of garlic the next summer. It takes up little space, few pests bother it, and homegrown garlic tastes far better than most store-bought bulbs.

Garlic bulbs and cloves (Allium sativum) — Photo: Billjones94, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Garlic at a glance

When: fall, a few weeks before the ground freezes. October is ideal for much of the US.
Depth: about 2 inches deep, pointy end up.
Spacing: 6 inches apart, in rows 12 inches apart.
Sun: full sun, at least 6 hours a day.
Harvest: early to mid summer, when about half the leaves have turned brown.

Garlic (Allium sativum): Allium sativum. Restra de allos de Oroso- Galiza — Photo: Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez (Lmbuga), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Hardneck or softneck: which garlic should you grow?

There are two main kinds of garlic. The right one depends mostly on your winters.

Hardneck garlic

Best for cold winters (roughly zones 3 to 6). It grows a stiff central stalk and sends up a curly flower stem called a scape in early summer. Cloves are bigger and easier to peel, with a rich, bold flavor. It stores for about 4 to 6 months.

Softneck garlic

Best for mild winters (roughly zones 7 to 10). It has no stiff stalk, so the soft leaves can be braided. Heads hold more, smaller cloves. It’s the type sold in most grocery stores and stores for 6 to 9 months.

Buy “seed garlic” from a garden center or seed company rather than planting grocery-store garlic. Store garlic is often a softneck grown far away, may not suit your climate, and is sometimes treated to stop it from sprouting.

When to plant garlic

Garlic needs a cold spell of several weeks to split into cloves. Without it, you may get one big round bulb instead of a head. So plant in fall, and aim to get cloves in the ground about two to four weeks before the soil freezes. That gives roots time to grow before winter, without so much top growth that the leaves get damaged.

Cold zones (3–5): late September to mid-October.
Middle zones (6–7): mid-October to early November.
Warm zones (8–10): November to December. Some growers chill cloves in the fridge for a few weeks first.

How to plant garlic, step by step

Prepare the bed. Pick a sunny spot with loose soil that drains well. Mix in 2 or 3 inches of compost. Raised beds work great.
Split the heads. Right before planting, gently break the heads into single cloves. Keep the papery skin on each clove.
Choose the biggest cloves. Big cloves grow big heads. Cook with the small ones.
Plant pointy end up. Push each clove about 2 inches deep, with the flat root end down. Space them 6 inches apart in rows 12 inches apart.
Water in. Give the bed a good soak after planting.
Mulch. Once the ground starts to get cold, cover the bed with 4 to 6 inches of straw or shredded leaves. This protects cloves from freezing and thawing over winter.

Garlic (Allium sativum): Allium sativum — Photo: H. Zell, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Care from spring to harvest

Spring

Green shoots often poke up in late fall or early spring. Pull the mulch back a little once hard freezes are over, so the soil warms up, but leave some to hold moisture and keep weeds down. Feed with a nitrogen-rich fertilizer or compost when the leaves start growing strongly. Garlic hates competition, so pull weeds while they’re small.

Watering

Garlic needs about 1 inch of water a week while it’s growing, from rain or the hose. Stop watering about two weeks before harvest, once the lower leaves start turning brown. Dry soil at the end helps the heads cure and store well.

Scapes: the bonus crop

In early summer, hardneck garlic sends up a curly flower stalk called a scape. Snap or cut it off once it makes a loop. This pushes the plant’s energy into the bulb, so you get bigger heads. And don’t throw scapes away. They taste like mild garlic and are great in pesto, stir-fries and eggs.

When and how to harvest garlic

Harvest when about half of the leaves have turned brown and the rest are still green, usually in June or July. Each green leaf is one wrapper around the head, so waiting too long leaves the heads with fewer wrappers and they don’t store as well.

Loosen, don’t pull

Use a garden fork to loosen the soil a few inches away from the plant. Then lift the head out gently. Pulling on the stalk can snap it off.

Brush off the soil

Shake or gently brush off loose dirt. Don’t wash the heads.

Cure for 2 to 4 weeks

Hang garlic in bunches, or lay it on a screen, in a shady, dry place with good airflow. The necks and wrappers should be fully dry.

Trim and store

Cut stalks to about an inch above the head and trim the roots. Store in a cool, dry, dark place with airflow, such as a mesh bag. Save the biggest heads to plant next fall.

Common garlic problems

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
One round bulb, no cloves	Not enough cold, or planted too late	Plant in fall; chill cloves in warm zones
Small heads	Small cloves, weeds, too little water or scapes left on	Plant big cloves, weed often, water weekly, remove scapes
Yellow leaves in spring	Low nitrogen or waterlogged soil	Feed with compost or fertilizer; improve drainage
Heads rot in storage	Harvested wet or not cured fully	Stop watering before harvest; cure in dry air

Garlic growing FAQs

When is the best time to plant garlic?

In fall, about two to four weeks before the ground freezes. For much of the US, that means October or early November.

How deep should I plant garlic cloves?

About 2 inches deep, pointy end up, and 6 inches apart. In very cold areas, go a little deeper and use thick mulch.

Can I plant garlic from the grocery store?

It may grow, but it’s a gamble. Store garlic may be treated to stop sprouting and may not suit your climate. Seed garlic from a garden supplier is more reliable.

Can you plant garlic in the spring?

You can, but heads will be smaller, and they may not form cloves without winter cold. Fall planting gives much better results.

How do I know when garlic is ready to harvest?

When about half of the leaves have turned brown and the rest are still green, usually in early to mid summer.

Sources and further reading

North Carolina State Extension, Allium sativum plant profile
ASPCA Animal Poison Control, Garlic
Wikipedia, Garlic

Keep growing

Fall is bulb season, so this is also the perfect time to plant tulip bulbs for spring color. Find more edible plants in our herbs and edibles section.