• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
From Dirt to Dishes
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Garden
  • Contact
Home » Planting Garlic

Planting Garlic

September 21, 2022 by Kacey Leave a Comment

Garlic is a great pantry staple that is easy to grow in the home garden, you just need to get the timing right. It’s important to start planning now, in the fall, so that you can enjoy the harvest next gardening season. Here are some details for planting garlic.

About Garlic

Generally garlic falls into two types; softneck and hardneck. You will often find softneck at the grocery store and it is commonly seen in the traditional braids. Hardneck is better for long term storage and produces a garlic scape. Check out this post about what to do with garlic scapes. The type most commonly grown in gardens is hardneck.

Garlic is planted as a bulb using a single clove from a head of garlic. The garlic cloves are planted in the fall so that they can experience very cold or freezing temperatures. They go through a process called vernalization which causes a single clove to divide into the many cloves you see in a full head of garlic.

Seed garlic can be purchased from seed companies or sourced locally at a farmers market. You can also use garlic you’ve grown in the previous year. If you plan to do this, it’s important to keep this in mind for the amount you need to grow. I plant one 3-foot by 12-foot beds with approximately 100 cloves which produces enough for our fresh use throughout the year and enough for seed garlic.

planting garlic in a raised bed garden.

Steps to Planting Garlic

  • Compost – Garlic requires very fertile soil. I always add 1-2″ of compost to the bed before I plant the garlic in the fall.
  • Planting
    • In Southern Ontario I aim to plant garlic when the temperatures begin cooling and we are seeing frost. For me this is typically the second half of October.
    • In my three foot wide raised bed I plant four rows with the cloves about six inches apart. Using a hori hori, I plant the clove, root side down, about five to six inches deep.
  • Cover – Once you have planted the garlic, it needs to be covered with some type of mulch. I commonly use leaves as they are easily available at this time of year, but you can also use straw. I hold down the mulch with a wire mesh so that they don’t blow away before it is covered in snow.
    • In the spring you will start to see the garlic poke it’s way through the mulch. Once temperatures have warmed I will remove the leaves so that the bed is easier to maintain, but they could be left to help hold in moisture.
  • Fertilize – as mentioned, garlic is a heavy feeder, so side dressing the garlic in late May or early June with blood meal or something similar is helpful to ensure you get good size garlic heads.
  • Scapes – as the garlic matures you will start to see the development of scapes. These are the curly tops that if left will flower and form seeds. You want to trim off these scapes once they curl to ensure that the plant continues to put effort into increasing the side of the garlic bulb. This typically happens in mid-June in Southern Ontario.
  • Harvest – When the leaves of the plant will begin to turn yellow and dry out, it’s time to harvest the garlic. You know that the garlic is ready when the bottom two to three leaves have turned yellow and died. This is usually about one month after I have picked the garlic scapes.
  • Curing – once you have harvested the garlic plants you want to lay them out or hang them to dry and cure in an area with good airflow out of direct sun. This extends the shelf life of the garlic. Once the garlic has cured, you can cut the top off and store the garlic in a cool dry place.
Spring Garlic

Although it may seem like a lot of steps planting garlic is fairly hands off and can produce a large volume of food. I highly recommend adding this pantry staple to the list of things you grow in your home garden.

Happy Gardening!

Filed Under: Garden

Previous Post: « Pico de Gallo
Next Post: September Garden Update »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Welcome!

Summer in the garden

Hi, I'm Kacey and I love food. I love everything about food including; raising it, growing it, preserving it, cooking it and last but not least eating

fromdirttodishes

This classic caesar salad dressing recipe is a gre This classic caesar salad dressing recipe is a great addition to many meals, including those Friday pizza nights. Check out the link in my bio for the recipe!⁠
⁠
#salad #foodie #homemade #realfood #foodblog
This classic caesar salad dressing recipe is a gre This classic caesar salad dressing recipe is a great addition to many meals, including those Friday pizza nights. Check out the link in my bio for the recipe!⁠
⁠
#salad #foodie #homemade #realfood #foodblog
If you have a gardener in your life and are lookin If you have a gardener in your life and are looking for a gift idea, check out the link in my bio for a post about a few tools that I like to have around the garden.  They are useful for both novice and experienced gardeners. ⁠
⁠
#garden #gardening #mygarden #raisedbeds #veggiegarden #vegetablegarden #vegetables #kitchengarden #eatwhatyougrow #growwhatyoueat #homegrown #realfood #foodie #foodblog
Over the years, I have refined my go-to kitchen it Over the years, I have refined my go-to kitchen items, here is some of my favourite kitchen equipment that I use on a regular basis.⁠ Check out the link in my bio for more details. 
⁠
#foodie #homemade #realfood #foodblog #kitchengarden #eatwhatyougrow #growwhatyoueat
This simple roasted squash with rosemary and parme This simple roasted squash with rosemary and parmesan is a great side dish and hands-off recipe to make.  Check out the link in my bio for more details.⁠
⁠
#squash #foodie #homemade #realfood #foodblog #kitchengarden #eatwhatyougrow #growwhatyoueat
This spring I decided to try a string trellising m This spring I decided to try a string trellising my tomatoes, check out the link in my bio for what worked well and what can use improvement.⁠
⁠
#tomato #garden #gardening #mygarden #raisedbeds #veggiegarden #vegetablegarden #vegetables #kitchengarden #eatwhatyougrow #growwhatyoueat #homegrown #realfood #foodblog
Overall my 2022 gardening season was very successf Overall my 2022 gardening season was very successful, check out the link in my bio for my gardening season in review, what went well and what needs improvement. ⁠
⁠
#garden #gardening #mygarden #raisedbeds #veggiegarden #vegetablegarden #vegetables #kitchengarden #eatwhatyougrow #growwhatyoueat #homegrown #realfood #foodie #foodblog
As the garden season comes to a close, there is a As the garden season comes to a close, there is a list of things that I like to do to put the garden to bed for winter.  Check out the link in my bio for more details.⁠
⁠
#garden #gardening #mygarden #raisedbeds #veggiegarden #vegetablegarden #vegetables #kitchengarden #eatwhatyougrow #growwhatyoueat #homegrown #realfood #foodie #foodblog⁠
Caramelizing onions helps to caramelize the sugars Caramelizing onions helps to caramelize the sugars and brings out the sweet flavour adding a depth of flavour.  Follow the link in my bio for a great caramelized onion dip recipe.
#onion #caramelizedonion #foodie #homemade #realfood #foodblog #kitchengarden #eatwhatyougrow #growwhatyoueat
This caramelized onion dip is a helpful recipe to This caramelized onion dip is a helpful recipe to have in your back pocket the next time you need to make an appetizer on short notice.  Check out the link in my bio for more details.⁠
⁠
#onions #caramelizedonions #foodie #homemade #realfood #foodblog #kitchengarden #eatwhatyougrow #growwhatyoueat
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Recent Posts

  • Classic Caesar Salad Dressing
  • Gift Ideas for the Home Gardener
  • My Favourite Kitchen Equipment
  • Simple Roasted Squash
  • The Results of String Trellising my Tomatoes

Copyright © 2023 From Dirt to Dishes on the Foodie Pro Theme