How to grow Garlic

At a glance

🌱 Grow your Garlic with GardenDex

• Reminders to water it, timed to your weather and whether it's in a pot
• Frost and disease alerts for your garden, the night before
• Follow it from seed to harvest, and see what your garden grew in $
• Point your camera at any plant or bug to identify it

🗓️ When to plant

Plant individual cloves in mid-autumn in cool climates, or in early spring in warmer regions. Garlic needs a cold period (vernalisation) to develop properly, so autumn planting is ideal in most areas.

🌰 How to plant

1. Break apart a garlic bulb into individual cloves, selecting large, healthy ones.
2. Plant cloves 5 cm (2 in) deep, pointed end up, into well-prepared soil enriched with compost.
3. Space cloves 15 cm (6 in) apart and water gently to settle the soil.
4. Mulch with 5 cm (2 in) of straw or compost to protect cloves and retain moisture.

💧 Care

• Keep soil weed-free and consistently moist, especially during spring growth.
• Apply a balanced fertiliser or side-dress with compost in mid-spring as shoots emerge.
• Remove any flower stalks (scapes) that appear in late spring to redirect energy to bulb development.
• Reduce watering in late spring as bulbs mature and approach harvest.

🧺 Harvest

Harvest when the lower leaves turn yellow and dry, typically in late spring or early summer. Gently dig up bulbs, brush off soil, and cure them in a warm, dry, well-ventilated place for 2–3 weeks before storing.

🐛 Common problems

White rot: Remove affected plants immediately, improve drainage, and avoid planting garlic in the same spot for at least 3–4 years.

Onion flies: Use row covers over young plants and remove any damaged or dying leaves promptly.

Downy mildew: Ensure good air circulation, avoid overhead watering, and thin crowded plants if needed.

🤝 Companion plants

💚 Good neighbours: Tomatoes, Carrots, Beets, Spinach

⚠️ Keep apart from: Beans, Peas, Asparagus

More vegetables guides