I Planted White Garlic and Nothing Grew

Soil Fertility

• Garlic can easily adapt to a wide range of soils, but typically will grow most successfully in warm climates with prolonged growing seasons. If you live in the Northeast, for instance, and tried to grow garlic by planting a bulb you purchased in a grocery store, you may have planted a bulb that was grown in the desert southwest and is this only acclimated to warmer climates. To test this, purchase a garlic bulb from a local grower or, if you are purchasing garlic seeds, inquire as to the availability of seed varieties that are more suited to your climate.

Planting Time

• Planted garlic always requires a "cold treatment" to germinate and sprout properly. Namely, garlic needs to be planted in soil before the first killing frost when air temperatures are still cold (exact time of year depends on your climate). If garlic is planted in the spring after winter frosts and not given a proper cold treatment, bulbs will be poorly developed, shoots will be diminished and the plant may not even sprout at all. Replant in the following season during the recommended time window for your climate to confirm if this is what caused your garlic to not sprout.

Disease and Pests

• Garlic plants have a few known insect pests such as the onion maggot and the stem and root nematode, but even in the case of severe infestations, it is unlikely that this insect will cause enough feeding damage that the plant will fail to sprout altogether. Garlic is also susceptible to a range of diseases including white rot, fusarium (basal or bottom rot), pink root, botrytis, penicillium molds and rust. Most of these diseases are spread by soil-borne fungal disease agents, so if a serious infection has taken hold in the soil, it could possibly kill the young garlic plant before it sprouts, though this is the least likely of all possible diagnoses.

Other Considerations

• The importance of cultivar selection is more important when planting garlic than when planting many other vegetables. As noted, buying a garlic bulb from a grocery store and planting it is often not advised since, in all likelihood, that garlic bulb was grown in a different climate than yours. There are numerous cultivars of garlic available to the home gardener, each with its own specific climatic and soil needs. A failure to meet these needs can easily result in a garlic plant that does not sprout.