In an ideal world, you planted your garlic in the fall. But, we and our gardens don’t always exist in a reality where we accomplish everything on our garden to-do lists. Luckily, if you forgot to plant last fall, moved to a new house in winter, or just discovered that you want to grow garlic, planting garlic in spring is an option.
Garlic is definitely an ingredient I use in my kitchen almost every day, and having your own freshly grown garlic is amazing if you like to cook.
Garlic is a versatile herb that can be used in many different dishes. It has a strong flavor that can be used to add flavor to sauces, soups, and stews. Garlic can also be used as a seasoning for meat, poultry, and fish. In addition, garlic has many health benefits and can help to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer.
When planting your spring garden, garlic is a great addition to your planting schedule. Ready to get started growing garlic? Grab your garden gloves and read on!
There are two main types of garlic and which one you choose to plant will depend upon what you’re looking for in a garlic harvest. While there are hundreds of cultivars of garlic, you can sort them into two main categories: hardneck and softneck.
Softneck is the most common variety found in grocery stores. Softnecks often have many smaller cloves and they sometimes form multiple layers of bulbs around the stem.
Softnecks tend to store for longer periods of time than hardnecks and they grow well in most climates. If you live in a warmer climate, this would be the garlic type to choose for your garden.
Hardneck garlic generally has fewer and larger cloves than softneck. Hardnecks produce a scape, or stalk, in late spring that grows from the center of the plant.
Most gardeners remove the scapes in early summer and you can make a delicious garlic scape pesto from them.
Because the outer paper on the bulb is thinner they won’t store as long as softneck garlic. They are best grown in cold climates.
Read more about garlic varieties to help you decide what kind you want to grow and learn where to buy them.
The answer varies widely depending upon what kind of garlic you plant. I’ve had softneck bulbs with 10, 15, or more cloves. On the other end of the spectrum, I’ve had hardneck bulbs with only five cloves. I mostly grow hardneck varieties because I prefer bigger cloves…way less peeling!
Garlic is a popular vegetable that also doubles as an herb in many dishes. With its distinctive pungent flavor garlic adds an extra kick of flavor to soups, sauces meat dishes, and more. If you’re a fan of garlic, you may have wondered if it’s too late in the season to plant some. I was curious about this myself, so I did some research to find out.
When is the Best Time to Plant Garlic?
The ideal time to plant garlic is in mid-to-late fall, around October or November. Planting garlic in the fall allows time for the cloves to develop a good root system before winter. The timing depends a bit on your growing zone. In cooler climates like zone 5, aim for October. In warmer areas like zone 7 or 8, you can plant as late as December.
Spring planting is not recommended because garlic needs a period of vernalization – exposure to cold winter temperatures – for the bulbs to form properly. Planting in fall means the garlic will be vernalized over winter and ready to grow when spring arrives.
Can You Plant Garlic in Early Spring?
You can attempt to plant garlic in early spring, but it is generally not recommended One reason is that the cloves may not have enough time to vernalize over the winter Spring soil temperatures are also cooler, which slows initial root growth. Finally, an early spring planting means the garlic has less time to mature before summer harvest.
While it’s possible to plant in spring, expect poorer performance and smaller yields compared to a fall planting. The bulbs will likely be smaller. The exception is in very warm climates (zones 8-10) where garlic can be planted over winter.
How Late is Too Late to Plant Garlic?
Just how late is too late to plant garlic? To find out, I looked at some research on planting garlic at different dates.
One study tested planting garlic in zone 5 on October 1st, November 1st, December 1st, and March 1st. The October and November plantings had the largest bulbs at harvest, followed by December, and finally March.
- October bulbs were large, averaging 5 cloves per bulb
- November bulbs were slightly smaller but still large, averaging 4 cloves per bulb
- December bulbs were noticeably smaller with 3 cloves per bulb on average
- March bulbs were the smallest, with just 2 tiny cloves per bulb
The results clearly showed earlier fall planting produced better yields. However, December was still reasonable, while March was quite late.
I would conclude late December is the cutoff for zone 5. After Christmas, it’s really too late for a worthwhile crop. In zone 6 or 7, you might have another week or two before it’s too late.
Should You Bother Planting Garlic in Early Spring?
While spring planting is late, you may still get some results. The bulbs will likely be small, so it won’t be a full harvest. However, spring planting can be worth it just to produce garlic for the next season.
The advantage of spring planting is it keeps the cloves alive through summer until they can be replanted in fall. If you miss the fall planting window, a spring crop is better than no crop at all! It ensures you’ll still have garlic to plant in the fall.
Tips for Late Season Garlic Planting
If you find yourself planting garlic in spring, here are some tips to get the best results:
- Choose the largest cloves from the bunch to plant – small cloves will produce poorer yields
- Plant in a sunny spot with well-drained soil enriched with compost
- Space the cloves 4-6 inches apart to prevent overcrowding
- Consider planting in containers you can move to warm, sunny spots
- Water regularly if rainfall is lacking to keep soil moist
- Mulch around the plants to retain moisture and suppress weeds
While yields will be lower, you can still produce usable garlic bulbs from a late spring planting. Just lower your expectations and focus on keeping the plants healthy.
To summarize, garlic does best when planted in fall but can still produce bulbs if planted in late winter or early spring. For cold climates like zone 5, I recommend planting garlic by late December at the absolute latest. Waiting until spring means much lower yields. However, a small spring crop is better than skipping a season entirely. With proper care, you can harvest garlic from a late planting and replant the cloves in fall.
How to Vernalize Spring Garlic
Garlic is best planted in the fall because the cold weather triggers a process known as “vernalization”. Vernalization is when cold conditions trigger a sprouting process in the garlic. In my zone 5 garden in Wisconsin, I plant my garlic at the end of October or beginning of November depending on the weather. That way the cold winter months vernalize the garlic.
But, as we discussed at the beginning of the article, you can still plant garlic in spring. Ideally, you would mimic the vernalization process by placing your garlic cloves in the fridge for 4-8 weeks.
But, in all honesty, I’ve planted garlic in spring without doing this. You do run the risk that the garlic won’t form individual cloves, but I’ve found that mine did when I planted spring garlic without putting it in the fridge first.
How to Plant Garlic
Step 1: Prep your garlic bed for planting.
I have heavy soil, so I break up the soil by using my favorite garden tool, the digging fork. (I have several, including this one
In over 20 years of gardening I’ve always had a no-till garden. Tilling destroys the soil structure and I hate wrestling with loud machines. Gardening should be quiet and peaceful!
Step 2: Add organic fertilizer.
After struggling with soil nutrient issues in several of my gardens over the years, I now recommend that all gardeners add organic garden fertilizer to their garden beds before each planting of seeds and plants. This applies when planting garlic in spring. Read all about it, including what kinds you should buy, in this article about organic garden fertilizer.
Step 3: Pop the garlic.
When planting garlic you’re planting the individual cloves, not the entire bulb. One clove will grow into a whole bulb by the time it’s ready to harvest. That’s a pretty good payback!
“Popping the garlic” is a fancy way of saying breaking the bulbs into the individual cloves. I usually do this over a bucket or bowl to catch the cloves and loose paper covering the cloves and bulb.
Keep the paper on each clove, you don’t need to peel them. It will offer a protective layer while they’re in the ground.
If you’re planting more than one variety at a time and you want to keep track of each one, work with them separately and keep them in their own containers with a label.
Step 4: How to plant garlic in spring.
Garlic spacing is six inches between each clove on all sides. I’ve experimented with tighter spacing, four inches, but it resulted in smaller bulbs and cloves. Personally, bigger is better in my book!
Six inch spacing means you can fit a lot of garlic in a small space. I can usually squeeze all of my 220 cloves in two larger garden beds. A quick way to easily measure the distance between the cloves is to mark every six inches on your rake handle. Or you can use a measuring tape spread out over the width of the bed.
The cloves should be planted about four to six inches deep. If you can’t easily get them down into the soil that far, use a tool like a dandelion digger
Make sure you’re planting the clove pointy side up and root side down.
When you’re finished planting use your hands to smooth out the soil and make sure each clove is well covered.
Watch the accompanying video to watch me planting garlic in my garden.
Step 5: Mark the varieties.
If you’re keeping track of your garlic varieties make sure you write them down on your garden map so you can differentiate between them at harvest time.
I also write each variety name on a stake and pound it into the ground in front of the first row. On your map, you can also write the amount of each variety you planted so you can evaluate if it’s enough (or too much) next year.
Keeping records over time helped me figure out that 220 cloves was just about right. There’s no need for us to plant more, even when we have extra seed.
How Late is Too Late to Plant Garlic?
FAQ
What happens when you plant garlic too late?
If you do plant late, it should still grow into a great plant, but it also may not allow the clove sufficient time to initiate its roots and anchor itself in …
What happens if you plant garlic in the summer?
What should you not plant next to garlic?
- Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis)
- Chives (Allium schoenoprasum)
- Beans (Phaseolus and Vicia)
- Leeks (Allium porrum)
- Onions (Allium cepa)
- Ornamental onions (Allium spec.)
- Parsley (Petroselinum crispum)
- Peas (Pisum sativum)
Can you grow garlic all year around?
HOW TO HAVE HOMEGROWN GARLIC YEAR-ROUND! Work out how many cloves of garlic your household needs each week. Multiply x 52 weeks. Plant the required number of cloves (number of bulbs you’ll need depends on the variety you choose, e.g. some varieties average 10 cloves per bulb).