How to Grow Garlic at Home: A Simple, Rustic Guide for a Bountiful Harvest

This post contains affiliate links. This means I earn a small commission at no cost to you. You can view my affiliate disclosure here.

There’s nothing quite like the joy of planting garlic in the cool quiet of autumn and knowing that next summer’s kitchen will be filled with heads of homegrown garlic, each one packed with flavor and history. Growing your own garlic is one of the most rewarding and low-maintenance garden projects you can do, and with a little preparation and patience, you’ll be harvesting plump bulbs year after year

Two seed garlic bulbs ready to plant in a guide for growing garlic at home including curing and storing garlic and harvesting garlic

My sourdough was flat and business was slow

When I first started homesteading, my sourdough was dense and flat, my garden struggled, and it seemed like I was scrambling to get people to notice my business, let alone, buy my products. And for a time, I burnt out.

After years of trial and error, analyzing hundreds of businesses from other sectors, and just pure grit...

I created a free Zero to Homestead Skool Community: a place where homesteaders of all levels share wins, troubleshoot challenges, and get guidance from experienced peers. By joining, you’ll access step-by-step guides to build traditional skills (sourdough, fresh milled flour, traditional foods, preserving, livestock, gardening, and more) plus full courses, workshops, and homestead business-building resources with a supportive network to help your homestead thrive.

Click to learn more

Why Grow Garlic in Your Garden?

Store-bought garlic often offers only one or two bland varieties. When you grow your own, you open the door to a world of rich, complex flavors: experimenting with softneck, hardneck, and even giant elephant garlic. Best of all, garlic is incredibly space-efficient. A small patch or raised bed can produce a year’s worth of cloves, and once you’ve harvested, you can save the best bulbs for replanting the next season.

When and Where to Plant Garlic

Garlic is a fall-planted crop in most climates, giving the cloves time to develop strong roots over winter so they can sprout strong in spring. Plant cloves between late September and mid-November before the ground freezes in colder regions. In mild climates, planting can stretch into winter or even early January.

Choose a sunny spot with loose, well-draining soil enriched with compost or aged manure. A soil pH between 6.0 and 7.0 is ideal, and raised beds work beautifully if your garden soil is heavy or compacted.

An image of plant garlic in the fall 4 to 6 inches which is when to plant garlic

Choose the Right Type of Garlic

Garlic comes in three broad categories, each with its own strengths:

Softneck Garlic – Excellent for warmer climates and long storage; easy to braid.
Hardneck Garlic – Thrives in cold winters and produces edible scapes (garlic flower stalks).
Elephant Garlic – Not a true garlic but a mild, large-bulbed allium that does well in a range of climates.

Seed garlic from reputable garden nurseries is best for planting. Grocery store bulbs are often treated to prevent sprouting and can introduce disease into your soil.

How to Plant Garlic (Step-by-Step)

Break Bulbs Into Cloves
Separate each bulb into individual cloves, keeping their papery skins intact. Choose the largest cloves for planting because they’ll yield the biggest bulbs.
Prepare the Soil
Amend your bed with compost and balanced organic fertilizer (like bone meal and blood meal). Garlic loves rich, loose soil.
Plant the Cloves
- Pointed end up
- 4–6 inches apart
- Planted about 2–4 inches deep (deeper in colder climates)
Water and Mulch
Water well after planting, then cover with a thick layer of mulch (straw or shredded leaves) to retain moisture and protect over winter.

Once planted, garlic is low-maintenance. In most regions, you can leave it through winter and simply enjoy the surprise of new green shoots in spring.

an image of growing garlic at home in a garlic growing guide

Care Throughout the Season

Watering: Keep garlic evenly moist in early growth, then reduce watering as bulbs mature.
Fertilizing: Side-dress with compost or organic fertilizer in spring as leaves green up.
Mulching: A deep mulch helps with moisture retention, temperature stability, and weed suppression.
Scape Removal: Hardneck garlic will send up curly scapes in late spring that should be cut off to encourage larger bulb growth—and they’re delicious cooked like green beans.

When to Harvest and How to Store

Garlic is ready for harvest when the lower leaves turn brown (often between May and July). Gently lift bulbs with a fork, avoid bruising, and let them cure in a dry, airy place for 2–3 weeks before trimming and storing. Properly cured garlic can keep through the winter in a cool, dry spot.

Frequently Asked Questions: How to Grow Garlic

When is the best time to plant garlic?
Garlic is best planted in the fall, usually 2–6 weeks before the ground freezes. This allows roots to establish before winter and leads to larger bulbs the following summer.

Can I plant garlic from the grocery store?
It’s better to plant seed garlic from a nursery or farmer. Store-bought garlic is often treated to prevent sprouting and may carry disease.

How much sun does garlic need?
Garlic thrives in full sun, needing at least 6–8 hours of direct sunlight daily for strong growth and large bulbs.

Do I need to water garlic a lot?
Garlic prefers consistent moisture during early growth, but soil should never be waterlogged. Reduce watering as harvest time approaches.

What are garlic scapes and should I remove them?
Scapes are flower stalks that appear on hardneck garlic. Removing them helps the plant direct energy into bulb growth, and they are delicious to eat.

How do I know when garlic is ready to harvest?
When the bottom third of the leaves turn brown and dry, the bulbs are usually ready. This often happens in early to mid-summer.

How long does homegrown garlic last in storage?
Properly cured garlic can store for 6–9 months in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place.

An image of adding several inches of mulch over newly planted homestead garlic showing hardneck vs softneck garlic — (This is not enough mulch. I will be adding more before it gets cold)

A Humble Crop with Big Rewards

Growing garlic brings rustic pleasure and practical bounty to your garden year after year. You’ll taste the difference in every clove, enjoy the satisfaction of harvest, and save money while expanding your culinary possibilities. From planting in crisp fall soil to pulling rich bulbs in summer sunshine, garlic is a truly rewarding garden friend.