How to plant garlic in fall for a big summer harvest

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Garlic is one of the easiest crops you can grow, and one of the few you plant in fall. Put it in the ground now, forget about it all winter, and dig fat heads next summer.

When to plant

Plant garlic about 4–6 weeks before your ground freezes. In most of the northern half of the country that's October to early November. In Zones 8–10, plant from October through December.

Pick the right garlic

Hardneck garlic handles cold winters best and gives you a bonus crop of curly scapes in June. Softneck garlic stores longer and does better in mild climates. Buy seed garlic from a garden supplier; grocery store garlic may not be suited to your climate.

Prepare the bed

Garlic wants full sun and loose, well-drained soil. Work in compost and a little organic vegetable fertilizer before planting. If you haven't tested your soil, a simple home kit will tell you if the pH is in the 6.0–7.0 range garlic likes.

Plant the cloves

Break the heads apart just before planting and use the biggest cloves; big cloves make big heads. Plant each clove pointy end up, about 2 inches deep and 6 inches apart, in rows about a foot apart. A hand trowel makes quick work of it.

Mulch it well

Cover the bed with 4–6 inches of straw or shredded leaves. Mulch keeps the soil from heaving in freeze-thaw cycles and smothers spring weeds. In spring, pull it back a little once shoots are up.

Next summer

Snap off hardneck scapes in June so the plant puts its energy into the bulb (and cook the scapes). Harvest when the lower third to half of the leaves have turned brown, usually in July. Loosen the soil with a digging fork rather than pulling, then cure the heads somewhere dry and airy for 2–3 weeks.

Gear for this job

• Hand trowel: The tool you'll use most.
• Straw mulch: Holds moisture, blocks weeds.
• Organic vegetable fertilizer: Slow-release feeding all season.
• Soil test kit: Know your pH before you add anything.
• Digging fork: Loosens soil without wrecking it.
• Garden gloves: Breathable with a grippy palm.

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