How Does Garlic Grow?

Metus dictum at tempor commodo

Softneck Garlic (Allium sativum sativum)

• Description. Large bulbs comprised of 12 to 20 cloves, with the largest ones on the outside of the bulbs. Large, vigorous plants grow best in mild winter areas. Most grocery store garlic is softneck garlic. Flavor is generally mild, with more spiciness in some Asian strains. Will keep for eight months under cool, dry conditions.
• Types. Creole types such as ‘Burgundy’ taste great and store well, even in the humid South. In the West, try late-maturing ‘Susanville’ or other California-bred varieties. ‘Red Toch’ is remarkably tasty and cold-hardy.

Hardneck Garlic (Allium sativum ophioscorodon)

• Description. Medium to large bulbs comprised of six to 12 symmetrical cloves around a hard central stalk. Cold-hardy plants produce delicious edible scapes. Plants that are allowed to flower may produce bulbils. Often sold in gourmet shops, hardneck garlic has a complex, spicy-sweet flavor. Storage time ranges from three to eight months.
• Types. Often called porcelain or continental strains, ‘German White’ and ‘Music’ produce tender scapes and six or more big, juicy cloves. Big-flavor rocamboles such as ‘Chesnok Red’ and ‘Spanish Roja’ excel in cold winter climates.

Elephant or Buffalo Garlic (Allium ampeloprasum)

• Description. Large, upright plants with strappy leaves need wide, 12-inch spacing. Baseball-size bulbs comprised of four to six cloves have mild flavor, which makes them great for roasting. To increase bulb size, harvest the edible scapes or use blossom clusters as cut flowers.
• Types. Seed is sold simply as elephant garlic, or you can start with a store-bought bulb. In areas where elephant garlic grows wild, feral seedlings moved to the garden will form bulbs in two years.

  When & How to Plant Garlic

  In fall, plant cloves in well-drained beds after the first frost has passed and the soil is cool. Cloves can also be planted in late winter as soon as the soil thaws, but fall-planted garlic produces bigger, better bulbs.

  Harvesting and Storing Garlic

  From early summer to midsummer, watch plants closely and harvest when the soil is dry and about one-third of the leaves appear pale and withered. Use a digging fork to loosen the soil before pulling the plants. Handle the newly pulled bulbs delicately to avoid bruising them. Lay the whole plants out to dry in a warm, airy spot that is protected from rain and direct sun. After a week or so, brush off soil from the bulbs with your hands, and use pruning shears to clip roots to half an inch long. Wait another week before clipping off the stems of hardneck varieties or trimming and braiding softnecks into clusters. Do not remove the papery outer wrappers, as these inhibit sprouting and protect the cloves from rotting.

  Storage life varies with variety and with growing and storage conditions. When kept at 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit, rocamboles store about four months, other hardneck garlic varieties usually last six months, and softneck and elephant garlic store for eight months or more. Hang your cured crop in mesh bags, or braid softneck types and suspend from rafters in a cool, dry basement or garage.

  Saving Garlic Bulbs for Planting

  Many garlic varieties fine-tune their growth patterns to the climate in which they are grown, so planting cloves from bulbs you grew yourself can save money and also result in a strain that is especially well-suited to the conditions in your garden.