How to grow Garlic in the UK
Push a clove in the ground and it turns into a whole bulb. Magic!
- DifficultyEasy peasy
- WhereBeds or Pots
- Grows to50cm
- Spacing15cm
- Time to first pickabout 20 weeks
When to sow, plant and harvest garlic
| Sow outdoors | early October to mid December or early February to mid March |
|---|---|
| Pick | mid June to mid August |
Dates are for central England. Sow about two weeks later in the north and Scotland, and up to two weeks earlier in the south and south west. Get the dates for your postcode.
Sowing it outdoors
- Split a garlic bulb into cloves
- Pinch off any loose papery bits at the pointy end - birds like to tug them
- Push each clove in, pointy end up, until the tip is 2-3cm under the soil (about a finger-joint deep)
- Space the cloves 15cm apart in the row, with rows 30cm apart
- Press the soil down firmly around each one
- Cover with netting, fleece or twiggy sticks to stop birds pulling them out
- Stick in a label - they won't pop up for a few weeks
Top tips for growing garlic
- Buy garlic from a garden supplier, not the supermarket - it's grown for our weather.
- Birds love pulling garlic out! Plant it deep, and cover it with netting or twigs until it grows roots.
- If one pops out, just push it back in - it'll be fine.
Looking after garlic
- At planting: Check your garlic - push any that have popped out back in
- Week 8: Pull out weeds around your garlic - it doesn't like sharing
Soil and feeding
Well-drained soil that doesn't stay wet. Add compost, and grit if your soil is heavy clay - onions and garlic rot if they sit in water. No fresh manure.
Pests and problems
- Blackbirds & sparrows: peck seedlings, pull out onion sets and steal ripe fruit
- Allium leaf miner: a tiny fly whose maggots tunnel into onion-family stems in spring and autumn
- Bend canes or plastic pipe into hoops over the row
- Stretch netting over the hoops, pulled tight so birds can't get tangled
- Peg or weigh down the edges so nothing can sneak underneath
- Check it every day
Harvesting and eating garlic
When the leaves turn yellow and flop over, loosen with a fork and lift the bulbs. Dry them in the sun for a week.
How to eat them: Roast a whole bulb in foil and squeeze the soft garlic onto bread.
Storing garlic
Keeps 6-9 months once dried.
- Dry it first (see the 'Dry your garlic' job) until the skins are papery
- Trim the roots, and plait the stalks or hang them in a net
- Keep somewhere cool, dry and airy - not the fridge
You can freeze peeled cloves in a bag and use them straight from frozen in cooking.
Good varieties of garlic
- Solent Wight: Stores for months - one of the best for UK gardens.
- Early Purple Wight: Ready in early summer - eat it fresh.
- Elephant garlic: Huge, mild bulbs - fun to grow, great roasted.
Companion planting
Grows well with
- Carrots: the garlic smell hides carrots from carrot fly
- Strawberries: garlic may help keep pests off strawberries
- Beetroot: they grow at different depths, so share space well
Keep away from
- Peas: garlic can stunt peas
- Broad beans: garlic can stunt beans
- Runner beans: garlic can stunt beans
- French beans: garlic can stunt beans
Saving your own garlic seed
When you lift them in summer.
- Keep a few of your biggest, healthiest bulbs - don't eat them!
- Store them somewhere cool and dry
- In autumn, split them and plant the biggest cloves
- Every few years, buy fresh ones to keep them free of disease
Things to build for garlic
Where to buy garlic seeds
Thompson & Morgan · Suttons · Amazon
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Garlic questions
When should I sow garlic in the UK?
In the UK, sow garlic outdoors from early October to mid December or early February to mid March. These dates suit central England; sow about two weeks later in the north and Scotland and up to two weeks earlier in the mild south and south west.
When can I pick garlic?
Garlic is ready from mid June to mid August. When the leaves turn yellow and flop over, loosen with a fork and lift the bulbs. Dry them in the sun for a week.
How long do garlic take to grow?
Roughly 20 weeks from sowing or planting until the first harvest.
Are garlic easy to grow?
Garlic are rated 'easy peasy' for beginners, and can be grown in the ground or a raised bed or in pots and containers.
Plan your own garden: it tells you what to do and when, for your postcode.
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