How To Grow Garlic From Seed – Homegrown Garlic

Thank you for sharing!

Garlic is the unsung hero of the home garden, and one of the easiest crops for a beginner gardener. It has a long planting window, is quite hardy, and can tolerate much neglect. We have grown it for many years, and I’d like to show you how to grow and harvest garlic from seed.

Why should you grow garlic from seed?

As homesteaders we always look for ways to be more self-sufficient. Growing plants from seed is a great way to do this. The less you depend on an outside source for what you need, the more resilient you will be during a supply chain interruption. Garlic is one of the easiest crops to save “seed” from that you can use year after year.

The different types of garlic

First things first, and you’ll need to decide which type of garlic you want to grow. The two main types of garlic are softneck and hardneck. The “neck” is the tall center stem that forms as it grows. Softneck types tend to have a milder flavor, similar to what you might find at the grocery store, while hardneck types taste stronger and more complex. There are many different varieties of garlic under each of these categories, and which ones you choose to grow might depend on climate, storage, or flavor. Softneck varieties do well in warmer climates, store for a longer period of time, and are ideal for making garlic braids. On the other hand, hardneck garlic grows well in colder climates, doesn’t keep as long, and the tough stems can’t easily be braided. Hardneck varieties also produce edible flower stalks called garlic scapes.

Some of the garlic varieties that we’ve grown are Russian Red, Music, Inchelium Red, and Chesnok Red. Our favorites are always the hard neck types. We prefer a stronger flavored garlic as well as the way the cloves easily separate from the center stem. Even though our climate is mild, hard neck varieties do well here and they keep for a long time also. 

A word about seed

Most seed garlic available for purchase is simply a head of garlic that you break apart into individual cloves. Plant the cloves pointy end up in furrows or holes, and they will grow into a whole head. You can then save some of your garlic heads after harvest to be “seed” for next year. We have a wild variety of garlic growing on our property that we started cultivating, and it is now our favorite one! The flavor is outstanding and it produces a larger bulb than the other seed garlic we’ve tried. Native plants are already accustomed to the specific climate they grow in, so source local garlic seed if possible.

If you find some wild garlic like we did, you might have to start with the bulbils that are produced in the flower stems. Garlic grown in this manner will take a couple more years of planting in order to develop. The first year will yield smaller cloves on small bulbs, but expect somewhat larger bulbs the following year. By the third year you should have nice big bulbs with larger cloves.   

When is the best time to plant garlic from seed?

Garlic has a long growing season, and the best planting time is in late fall before the ground freezes. Anywhere from late September through Novemeber. We have also planted at the end of December many times with good results. The bulb size depends on how long the garlic plants grow, so avoid spring plantings because there won’t be enough time for them to develop properly.

Where do you plant garlic?

It’s a good idea to prepare your garden beds before planting time. Garlic heads develop under the ground, and light loamy soils help promote better bulb growth. A raised bed is ideal for growing garlic because the soil tends to be less compact than one in the ground. If you have a no-dig or no-till garden then planting in the ground will still produce a nice head of garlic. Make sure your beds have well-drained soil amended with plenty of organic matter in order to give your new plants the best start possible. Garlic also likes plenty of sun, so make sure your garlic bed doesn’t get too much shade.

When deciding where to plant your garlic, make sure you consider the fact that it will need to still be in the same spot all spring and into mid-summer. The space it occupies in the winter will not be available early on in the growing season for another crop. You can plant garlic in a bed by itself, or interplant it with other crops. If you choose to interplant then you should consider companion planting. Companion planting is when you place plants that are beneficial to each other close together, and avoid pairs that could prevent growth.     

How do you plant garlic from seed?

Once you’ve decided when and where to plant your garlic, it’s time to get to work. You can create shallow furrows 6″-12″ apart, and place cloves with the pointed end up every 4″-8″. Or you can create a grid pattern in the soil by using a stick slightly bigger than an individual clove to poke holes in the soil. We prefer the grid method, and usually create holes every 4″ apart in rows that are 6″ apart. The ideal depth for a planted clove is 2″-3″ deep. Dirt will often fall in on the cloves as you plant them, so it is helpful to wait until after you plant a large area before you cover the cloves with soil. This allows you to easily tell which areas have already been planted, and which you still need to do.

After all the planting is done, loosely cover with soil and pat down gently. It is best to cover the area with some type of mulch whether it be fallen leaves, straw, or grass clippings. Finally, lightly water in your planted garlic if no rain is expected in the next couple of days. Over the winter there will most likely be enough moisture that you won’t have to water again until the weather starts getting warm and dry in the spring.

Garlic scapes

As hard-neck garlic varieties reach maturity, they produce flower stalks called scapes. These grow as flexible curlicues on the stems. They are delicious sautéed as a side dish or added to just about anything for an extra garlicky flavor. They usually appear 2-4 weeks before the bulbs are ready to harvest. It’s always an exciting time for us when garlic scapes are ready. Each plant only produces one scape, and it’s best to check them daily. Cut as close to the stem as you can when harvesting the scapes. You can always freeze any extras that you don’t use right away, or dehydrate them. It’s best to pick them even if you don’t want to eat them. That way the energy the plant puts into developing the flower and bulbils will go back toward producing a better head of garlic.

When is it time to harvest garlic?

Harvest time depends on several factors, but will likely be 7-9 months after you plant. If you plant your garlic in October then it will probably be ready to harvest in June. When it gets close to being ready, the leaves start to turn yellow and die back. Ideally, leave them in the ground until there are only a few green leaves left on the stalk. 

How do you harvest garlic? 

Gently loosen the soil around your garlic plants, and pull firmly up on the stalks. If the soil is too compact when you pull up, it could damage the garlic bulbs. Also, if the plant is left in the ground too long then the stem could detach from the bulb. Once the stem is no longer attached to the head of garlic, it is difficult to get it out of the ground without damage. After all of the garlic is harvested, it will need to cure for a couple of weeks.

What is curing?

Garlic stalks needs 2-4 weeks of curing time where the leaves and stem dry out a bit so that they will keep long term without too much moisture to spoil them. In order for garlic to cure properly it needs a well ventilated area with good air circulation. You can lay it out on elevated wire racks, such as between sawhorses, or you can hang it in bunches under a porch or shed. We prefer to hang ours, and often leave them that way until time to use. We store ours in the laundry room where we just pull them down one at a time as needed.

To braid or not to braid

As I mentioned earlier, softneck garlic is ideal for braiding because it doesn’t have a stiff stem like hardneck varieties do. However, we often braid our hard-neck garlic, it just takes a little more effort. Garlic braids look beautiful hung up in your kitchen, pantry, laundry room, or anywhere really. I love filling our home with lovely practical décor, and hanging garlic is at the top of that list. You can also hang bunches without braiding. If you prefer to keep garlic out of sight, remove any excess dirt, trim the roots, cut the stems off an inch from the bulb, and store in a cool dark place. Do not keep them in anything with an airtight lid. Take care not to remove too many layers of the outer skin because this protects the garlic, and will help it to keep longer.

Storage and usage

Our experience with storing garlic is that it keeps much longer than the experts say it will. We have used 2 year old garlic in recipes the same as we would use fresh. The worst thing that starts to happen is it will naturally dehydrate. In that case, just crush and use as garlic powder. Dehydrating and grinding into powder is a great way to preserve fresh garlic too. I like to cut the cloves into thin slices, dehydrate, and store in a glass jar until ready to use. This preserves flavor, and you can easily crush one or two pieces in a mortar and pestle when needed for a recipe.

Enjoy your harvest

Homegrown garlic is a staple on any homestead, and it is so easy to grow and harvest garlic from seed. It is a valuable crop that has many culinary and medicinal uses. Although garlic has a long growing season, it is worth every bit of time and effort invested in cultivating it. With minimal effort your family can have fresh garlic year round.

Thank you for sharing!