The days are gradually getting shorter and the nights are a bit nippier. The trees are starting to turn color too. Must be garlic planting time! Considering how simple and fuss-free garlic is, you’d think I would have learned how to plant garlic sooner. But I put off gardening in the fall for several years due to lack of knowledge and prior experience. Then a good friend shared that she just plopped sprouted grocery store garlic in the ground and it grew great. What?! It’s that easy?! I decided to try it for myself and am here to share some of the tips and knowledge we’ve acquired the last few years for growing garlic here in the south. Even if your climate varies from ours, we have tips for those warmer and cooler than us as well.
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Choose your variety
There are two kinds of garlic–soft-neck and hard-neck. The main differences between the two are storage capacity, clove sizes, and weather preferences. Soft-neck garlic is the one you’re used to buying at the grocery store. It tends to have an abundance of cloves and will store over 6 months in proper conditions. It also tends to thrive despite the erratic temperature swings of a classic southern winter.
However, hard-neck garlic actually prefers colder winters and might bolt before bulbing if your spring warms up too fast. Hard-necks also have larger (yet fewer) cloves and will last only about 4 months in storage. The choice is yours! We’ve grown both, but personally prefer soft-neck down here in zone 7b. Frugal gardening tip: You can buy fancy-named garlic bulbs from seed companies, but we’ve actually had great success just using garlic from the grocery store!
If you want to venture beyond generic grocery store garlic, here are a few other options:
- Siberian Hardneck
- Chesnok Hardneck
- Music Hardneck
- Elephant Garlic
- California Softneck
- Russian Red Softneck
Preparing to plant garlic
We’ve tried growing garlic in a few different spots, but have found that it appreciates more sun than shade. If you find that your bulbs stay small, consider trying a sunnier location next year. After sunlight, consider your soil. Garlic prefers well-draining soil, so if you’re blessed with Carolina clay, start adding organic matter like compost to amend the soil.
Garlic is also a heavy feeder–soaking up phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen. If you haven’t had a soil test from your county extension service yet, all is not lost. The leaves can give you clues about what is missing from your soil. If the leaves are yellowing, add some nitrogen. If they are a pale green, they are in need of some phosphorus. And if the tips are browning and the bulbs aren’t forming, the soil is lacking potassium.
When to plant garlic
Now you have your seed garlic and the garden is ready for planting! When do you plant it? The best window of time to plant in the south is between the middle of October to the middle of November. Live in the warmer half of the South? Plant in mid-November. Do the temperatures drop sooner in your region? Plant closer to mid-October. Being smack dab in the middle of southern climates, we aim to plant our about the first week of November.
How to plant garlic
Planting day has finally arrived! Break apart the cloves keeping the skins on. The larger the clove, the larger the future bulb will be. So select the largest cloves for planting. To form the rows, we use a stick or garden tool handle to dig a straight trench. Drop in your cloves pointy-side up about about 6” apart. Bonus: This is a great task for the little hands that want to help! 😉 Now cover with about an inch or two of soil. (If you live a bit further north consider covering deeper or mulching your garlic bed.) That’s it! It’s as simple as that!
From here on out consistent watering is key to successful bulb formation. That and keeping them well-weeded like all other garden plants. Consider adding a layer of mulch to help the soil retain moisture and keep weed pressure down. If you planted a hard-neck variety, be sure to cut the scapes (flowering stems) to allow your garlic plants to focus on forming bulbs not flowers. Conveniently, they are edible, so nothing goes to waste!
Harvesting homegrown garlic
Don’t get impatient to plant those spring and summer crops! Wait until the lower third of the garlic leaves turn brown and you can feel the bulbs when you stick your finger down into the soil. Loosen the dirt and roots below with a digging fork or trowel and pull up the bulbs. Gently remove some of the excess soil before curing. Set out your garlic in a dry, shady, and well-ventilated location to cure for about a month. In our fairly humid climate, we use a cheap box fan to ensure good air circulation. Once the curing process is complete, braid the soft-necks or chop the tops off about 1-2 inches from the bulb.
Want to grow other crops this fall? Check out our other fall gardening tips here.