How to Grow Garlic & How Long Is the Time?

Choose a location that is exposed to sunlight all day long. Garlic thrives in full sun.

Grow your garlic in rich, well-draining, loamy soil. Amend your soil with 2 lbs. of balanced (10-10-10) fertilizer for every 100 square feet of planting site. Spread it out over the site, then work it into the soil to a depth of about 6 inches.

Plant individual cloves about 4 inches apart, with the neck (tip) facing straight up and covered by an inch of soil.

Cover the planting site with 4 to 6 inches of mulch to help the soil stay moist and stifle weed growth. In the spring, keep an eye out for weeds and remove them promptly.

Keep the soil consistently and slightly moist. Overly wet soil will cause the bulbs to rot.

Cut off the topset in early summer. This is a round formation that will grow on top of a stiff, straight stem. Cut off the topset along with several inches of the stem to force the bulb (clove) to grow larger.

Harvest garlic in early summer, when the leaves begin to turn yellowish-brown. Carefully pull up the plant without damaging the bulb. Wipe off any clumps of dirt but don't wash the bulb. Set the bulb to dry in a warm but shady location that gets some air. When the bulb dries out in two or three weeks, remove the top foliage, leaving just the bulb. The total time from planting in the fall until harvesting in early summer usually takes around 10 months.