How to Grow Garlic in the UK
If you've never grown anything before, garlic is a brilliant place to start. You plant it in autumn, largely forget about it over winter, and dig up a crop of fat, homegrown bulbs the following summer. It's just as happy in a raised bed or a pot as in open ground, as long as the soil doesn't stay soggy.
Each bulb you plant is really a bundle of future plants: every clove you push into the ground grows into a whole new bulb. All it asks for is sun, loose soil and a proper British winter.
Quick facts
Plant: mid-autumn to early winter (October to December)
Depth: tip of the clove 2.5 cm below the surface
Spacing: 15 cm apart, in rows 30 cm apart
Position: full sun, free-draining soil
Harvest: late spring to early summer, when the leaves turn yellow
Containers: pots at least 25 cm deep
Choose the right garlic
Always start with garlic sold for planting, from a garden centre or a specialist grower. It's tempting to use a bulb from the supermarket, but those are often grown in warmer countries and struggle in our weather, and they can carry diseases that then linger in your soil.
You'll see garlic sold as one of two types, and the choice mostly comes down to how you like to cook and how long you want it to keep.
Softneck garlic: plenty of smallish cloves packed tightly together. It rarely tries to flower and is the best keeper, lasting up to a year in good conditions. Good choices include 'Solent Wight', 'Germidour' and 'Cristo'.
Hardneck garlic: fewer but bigger cloves, with a bolder flavour. It keeps for roughly four to six months and is more likely to push up a flower stalk.
All three of those softneck varieties hold the RHS Award of Garden Merit, and 'Solent Wight' is a particularly safe bet for UK gardens.
When to plant garlic
The main planting window runs from mid-autumn into early winter. Garlic depends on cold to develop properly: most varieties need somewhere between one and two months at 0–10°C, and planting in autumn means winter provides that for free. A handful of varieties are sold for late winter or early spring planting instead.
For more on timing, see when to plant garlic in the UK.
Planting garlic cloves
Pull the bulb apart into separate cloves on the day you plant, keeping the papery skins on.
Push each clove in root end down, pointed tip up.
Aim for the tip to sit about 2.5 cm beneath the surface.
Allow 15 cm between cloves and 30 cm between rows.
Cover the bed with fleece or netting for the first few weeks, because birds love to tug new cloves out before they've rooted.
Over winter the cloves quietly grow roots, then they put on most of their leafy growth once spring arrives.
Soil and position
Garlic grows best in:
a sunny spot
free-draining soil
ground improved with compost
Garlic sits in the same spot for eight months or more, so it's worth preparing the ground well. Dig in a couple of buckets of garden compost or well-rotted manure for every square metre before planting. It isn't a fan of very acidic soil, so if other acid-lovers thrive in your garden, it's worth a quick soil test.
Heavy clay that stays wet all winter is garlic's biggest enemy. On soil like that, start each clove in its own module cell and park the tray somewhere sheltered but unheated, such as a cold frame or greenhouse. By spring you'll have sturdy young plants ready to go out, spaced 15 cm apart.
You can read more in best soil for vegetable gardening in the UK.
Watering garlic
If spring or early summer turns dry, a good soak helps the bulbs bulk up. The moment the leaves begin to yellow, stop: the bulbs are close to finished, and damp soil at that stage can make them rot. Pour the water onto the soil, not over the leaves.
For more, see how often to water garlic.
Looking after garlic
Keep on top of weeds, and pull them by hand. Garlic hates being shaded out, and a hoe can easily slice into the bulbs just below the surface.
Snap off any flower stalks as they appear, so the plant's energy goes into the bulb. Don't throw them away: these young stalks, called scapes, have a mild garlicky flavour and are lovely stir-fried.
Growing garlic in containers
No suitable ground? A pot of multi-purpose compost works well, and it's a handy fix if your soil is heavy. Pick one at least 25 cm deep and plant at the same depth and spacing as you would in a bed. Pots dry out much faster than the ground, so check them regularly.
For container advice, see growing garlic in containers.
Harvesting garlic
Yellowing leaves are your cue to harvest. For autumn-planted garlic, that usually happens between late spring and early summer.
Don't leave it too long once the leaves have turned. Bulbs left in the ground too late start to split apart and won't keep as well. Loosen them with a fork rather than pulling on the leaves, and handle them gently, as any bruises will shorten their storage life.
For more, see when to harvest garlic.
Drying and storing garlic
Spread the bulbs out in one layer somewhere bright and breezy, such as a greenhouse with the door open, but don't let them bake above 30°C.
Give them two to four weeks, until the leaves are completely dry and papery.
Trim off the dried leaves and keep the bulbs somewhere cool and dry, ideally at around 5–10°C.
Expect hardneck bulbs to last four to six months, and softneck bulbs up to a year.
Common problems
One big round bulb with no separate cloves: the garlic didn't get enough cold over winter.
Bulbs splitting open: they were left in the ground too long before harvesting.
Green-tinged cloves: they were planted too shallowly. Fine to eat, but they won't keep.
Flower stalks appearing: normal for hardneck garlic. Snap them off early and eat them.
Orange spots on the leaves: rust, a fungal disease that also affects leeks.
Common questions
Can I plant garlic from the supermarket?
Not a good idea. Supermarket bulbs are often grown for warmer climates and can bring diseases into your soil that are hard to get rid of. Bulbs sold for planting cost a little more but give far more reliable results.
How deep should I plant garlic?
Around 2.5 cm of soil above the tip of each clove is about right. Plant too shallow and the cloves can turn green and won't store well. On heavy soil, don't be tempted to go deeper.
How do I know when garlic is ready to harvest?
Watch the leaves. Once they start turning yellow, the bulbs are ready. For garlic planted in autumn, that's usually somewhere between late spring and early summer. Lift promptly, as bulbs left too long start to split.
Should I cut off garlic flowers?
Yes, and you can eat them. Snapping off the flower stalks, known as scapes, helps the plant put its energy into the bulb. Young scapes have a gentle garlic flavour and are delicious fried or roasted.
Planting times, spacing and varieties based on RHS guidance.