When to plant

• Plant in fall, starting about 1 week before your first fall frost.
• Ready to harvest about 240 days after planting.

Plant cloves in fall; harvest next summer when lower leaves brown.

Frost dates depend on where you live. Enter your ZIP code to get exact dates.

Dates by zone: 3a 3b 4a 4b 5a 5b 6a 6b 7a 7b 8a 8b 9a 9b 10a 10b

Growing basics

Harmful to pets. Every part is toxic to cats and dogs, raw or cooked. It damages their red blood cells.

Sun

Full sun (6+ hours)

Spacing

6 in

Soil temperature

At least 40°F

Time to harvest

About 240 days

Containers

At least 2 gallons

Plant family

Onion family (alliums)

Harvest per plant

About 0.1 lb

Companions

Good neighbors: Tomato, Cabbage, Strawberry (June-bearing), Beet

Keep apart: the bean and pea family (legumes). Onions and garlic can stunt beans and peas.

Keep apart: Asparagus. Onions and garlic can stunt asparagus.

Keep apart: Horseradish. Horseradish spreads aggressively. Give it its own spot.

Keep apart: Mint. Mint spreads aggressively into neighbors. Keep it in a pot.

Keep apart: Fennel (bulb). Fennel slows the growth of most garden plants. Grow it on its own.

Keep apart: Sunchoke (Jerusalem artichoke). Sunchokes spread aggressively and shade neighbors.

Varieties to try

• Hardneck (e.g. Music): best in cold-winter areas; makes scapes
• Softneck (e.g. California Early): best in mild-winter areas; stores longest

Pests and problems

Grow it well

Tips

• Plant garlic in fall. Plant cloves pointy end up, 2 inches deep and 6 inches apart, a few weeks before the ground freezes. They grow roots over winter and make big bulbs by midsummer. Cover the bed with a few inches of straw.
• Dry onions and garlic before storing them. Pull onions once most of their tops have flopped over, and garlic once the lower third of its leaves turn brown. Spread them somewhere airy and out of the sun for 2 to 3 weeks, until the necks are dry and papery.

More garden tips →

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