Grow Your Own Garlic in 5 Simple Steps

A Beginner's Guide to Homegrown Garlic

Why Grow Your Own?

Homegrown garlic is fresher, tastier, and free from the chemicals common in imported garlic (mostly from China): chlorine bleaching, growth inhibitors, irradiation, and banned pesticides. Some reports cite untreated sewage as fertilizer. Since garlic bulbs grow underground, they absorb soil toxins directly.

When to Plant

Plant 6–8 weeks before hard frost. In coastal BC, mid-October is ideal.

Site and Soil

Choose a spot with 3–4 hours of winter sun. Soil should be well-drained, slightly alkaline. Raised beds are perfect. Amend with mushroom/steer manure (add a month before planting), compost, or Sea Soil.

Choosing Varieties

Softneck: No scapes, braidable, longer storage. Most store garlic is softneck.
Hardneck: Stiff stalk, fewer cloves, edible scapes/flowers, better for northern climates.
Elephant garlic: Actually a leek—huge bulbs, mild flavor.

5 Steps to Garlic Success

1. Prepare beds with amended soil. Let bulbs acclimate 24 hours outdoors. Keep bulbs intact; separate cloves only at planting.
2. Plant cloves 6–8 inches apart, rows 12 inches apart. Add bone meal to each hole. Plant tips 2 inches deep, pointed up. Use largest, healthiest cloves—you're cloning them. Eat the small ones.
3. Spring care: Fertilize late March–early May. Remove hardneck scapes to direct energy to bulbs—use scapes in stir-fries or pesto!
4. Harvest late July–early August. Stop watering 2 weeks prior. Dig when greens are ½–⅔ yellow. Brush off soil, cure 7–10 days in single layer, sheltered from sun/rain. Trim roots, cut hardneck stems, clean softneck leaves for braiding.
5. Store in mesh bags in a cool, dry, ventilated space. Save largest bulbs for next season's seed. Never refrigerate.

Growing from Seed (Hardneck Only)

Hardneck garlic flowers and produces tiny seeds—sexual reproduction for new varieties (cloves are clones). Seeds take 2–3 years for decent bulbs but are worth it for diversity if you have time and space.