Most UK garlic is planted in autumn, in October or November, so it gets the spell of cold it needs to split into a proper, full bulb. A few varieties will go in during late winter or early spring. Either way you plant individual cloves of named seed garlic, then lift the bulbs the following early summer once the leaves turn yellow.
Garlic is a member of the onion family, and one of the most forgiving things you can grow, which is part of why it rewards a little knowing-what-you-are-doing so handsomely. Get the timing right and a single bulb costing a pound or two turns into a row of plump, well-keeping heads that put the supermarket nets to shame. Get it wrong and you end up with a clump of green leaves and a bulb the size of a marble. The difference is almost entirely about when.
The short version
- Plant in autumn (October to November) for the biggest, best-keeping bulbs. This is the main UK garlic season.
- You can plant in late winter or early spring (February to March) if you miss autumn, but bulbs are usually smaller.
- Garlic needs one to two months of cold (0–10°C) to divide into a full bulb — this is why autumn works.
- Buy named seed garlic, not supermarket bulbs — they carry disease risk and rarely suit the British climate.
- Harvest the following early summer (autumn-planted from late spring to early summer; spring-planted a little later) once the lower leaves yellow.
When to plant garlic in the UK
In most of the UK, plant garlic in autumn, from October to November. Cloves go into warm-ish soil, send out roots before the worst of the winter, then sit quietly through the cold months and surge into growth in spring. That long, slow start is what gives you the largest bulbs, and it is the timing the Royal Horticultural Society and the seed houses both point to first.
If autumn slips past you — it happens, between half-term and the first frost the weekends fill up — there is a second window. Plant in late winter or early spring, roughly February to March, as soon as the soil is workable rather than frozen or sodden. Spring-planted garlic has a shorter run at it and tends to make smaller bulbs, but it is far from a wasted effort, and a few named varieties are bred specifically for spring planting.
One caution for heavy ground: garlic loathes sitting wet. If your soil stays cold and waterlogged over winter, autumn cloves can rot. On clay, either plant into a raised, free-draining ridge, start the cloves off in modules under cover (more on that below), or wait and plant in early spring when the ground has dried a little.
Why autumn works: what the cold actually does
Garlic needs a spell of cold to trigger a single clove to divide into a whole new bulb. The technical name for this cold requirement is vernalisation, and for most varieties it means one to two months at around 0 to 10°C. Without it, the clove tends to grow on into one large, undivided “round” rather than the segmented head you are after.
This is the single most useful thing to understand about growing garlic, because it explains nearly every other decision. It is why autumn planting is the default in Britain: leaving the cloves in the ground over winter delivers that cold for free. It is why a mild winter, or garlic started too late and too warm, can produce disappointing bulbs that have not split properly. And it is why gardeners in the mildest corners of the country — the far South West, a sheltered city garden — sometimes give spring-planted cloves a few weeks in the salad drawer of the fridge before planting, to guarantee the chill.
If your garlic grew but never divided into cloves, it almost certainly did not get enough cold.
Hardneck or softneck: which to grow
There are two families of garlic, and the practical difference comes down to flavour, storage and hardiness. Hardneck garlic has a stiff central stem, fewer but larger cloves and a stronger, more complex flavour; it is the hardier of the two, well suited to colder gardens, and it throws up an edible flower stalk called a scape. Softneck garlic has no woody stem, packs in more, smaller cloves, stores for far longer and is the type you see plaited.
| Hardneck | Softneck | |
|---|---|---|
| Flavour | Stronger, more complex | Milder, mellow |
| Cloves | Fewer, larger | More, smaller, tightly packed |
| Stores for | About 4 to 6 months | Longer — potentially up to a year |
| Hardiness | Hardier; good for cold gardens | Prefers milder spots |
| Scapes | Yes — edible flower stalks | Rarely (only in poor conditions) |
| Bolting | More prone | Unlikely |
For most weekend gardens the sensible answer is to grow some of each: a softneck for the kitchen string that will see you through to next spring, and a hardneck or two for the better flavour and the bonus of scapes in early summer. The scape — the curling flower stalk a hardneck sends up — should be snapped off anyway so the plant puts its energy into the bulb rather than the flower. Far from a chore, it is a small second harvest: scapes are delicious sliced into a stir-fry, blitzed into pesto or charred on the barbecue.
Choosing seed garlic (and why not the supermarket)
Buy named seed garlic from a garden centre or a reputable mail-order supplier, not a bulb from the vegetable aisle. The RHS is unusually firm on this, and for two good reasons. Supermarket garlic is often grown in warmer countries and is not suited to the British climate, so it tends to give a poor crop. More importantly, there is a biosecurity risk: imported eating garlic can carry diseases such as white rot, which lingers in the soil for years and will see off every onion, leek and garlic you try to grow there afterwards.
Seed garlic is sold as named varieties — bred and certified for growing, not eating — and it appears in garden centres and online from late summer through autumn, with a second flush in spring. It costs a little more than a supermarket net, and here is the quietly cheering part: it more than pays for itself. A single bulb splits into roughly 8 to 12 cloves, and every clove becomes a plant. One modest purchase, in other words, fills a whole row. Save your two or three best bulbs at harvest and you need never buy seed garlic again.
How to plant garlic: depth, spacing and where
Split the bulb into cloves only at planting time, push each one in with the flat base down and the pointed tip up, and space them well. The figures worth committing to memory are these: space cloves 15cm (6in) apart, with the tip about 2.5cm (1in) below the surface, and leave 30cm (1ft) between rows. On light, free-draining soil you can plant a touch deeper, which can give a bigger bulb; on heavy soil keep to the shallower end so the clove does not sit wet.
Three ways to plant
- Straight in the ground or a raised bed. The simplest route. Pick a sunny, free-draining spot, weed it, work in a couple of bucketfuls of well-rotted compost or manure per square metre, and plant the cloves to the spacing above. Cover with netting or fleece at first if birds are pulling them up.
- In modules, under cover. The answer for cold, wet, heavy ground. Pop one clove into each cell of a module tray of peat-free compost in autumn, keep them in a cold frame or unheated greenhouse over winter (they still get their cold), then plant the rooted young plants out in spring once the ground has dried.
- In pots. No garden needed. Use a container at least 25cm (10in) deep with good drainage, the same spacing as the ground, and peat-free multipurpose compost. Pots dry out fast, so keep an eye on watering. A single deep pot or a windowbox by the back door will still give you a useful little crop.
Whichever way you grow it, garlic wants full sun and ground that is not acidic — if your soil is below about pH 6.5, a dressing of lime in autumn or winter will help. It is a tidy, undemanding crop that takes up very little room, which is exactly why it suits a busy household: plant it, and then largely leave it.
Looking after it through to harvest
Garlic needs very little once it is in: keep it weeded, water in dry spells, and remove any flower stalks. Weeds are the main thing, because garlic resents competition and shade — hand-weed rather than hoe, so you do not nick the developing bulbs. Water during dry spells in spring and early summer to swell the bulbs, but stop once they are large and well formed, as wet feet at that stage invites rot. Try to keep water off the leaves to discourage fungal trouble.
If a hardneck sends up a scape, snap it off (and cook it). A spring feed with a general or seaweed-based fertiliser does no harm early on, but ease off the feeding once the bulbs begin to swell, or you will get lush leaves at the bulb’s expense.
When and how to harvest garlic
Garlic is ready when the lower leaves turn yellow and begin to flop — for autumn-planted bulbs that is from late spring into early summer, and a little later for spring-planted. As a rule of thumb, lift when roughly a third to a half of the leaves have yellowed. Each remaining green leaf corresponds to a papery wrapper around the bulb, and those wrappers are what let it store, so do not wait until the whole plant has collapsed: bulbs left too long open up in the soil and keep poorly.
Do not pull garlic up by the stalk. Ease a fork in underneath and lift gently, handling the bulbs carefully — a bruise now means a rot in store later. Shake off the loose soil but resist washing them.
Curing and storing your crop
Dry the lifted bulbs in a single layer somewhere warm and airy for two to four weeks until the outer skins are papery and the foliage rustles. A well-ventilated greenhouse, a sunny windowsill or a dry shed all work; avoid baking heat above about 30°C. This curing stage is what turns a fresh, perishable bulb into one that keeps for months.
Once cured, trim off the roots and either cut the stalks short or, with softneck garlic, plait the leaves into a string. Keep the bulbs somewhere cool and dry, ideally around 5 to 10°C — not the fridge, which is too damp, and not a warm kitchen, which prompts sprouting. Hardneck varieties keep for about four to six months; a good softneck can last close to a year, which, with a little planning, takes you almost to the next harvest.
Best garlic varieties to grow in the UK
Look for named varieties that suit the British climate, and in particular for the RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM), which marks types that have performed reliably in trials. A few worth seeking out:
- ‘Solent Wight’ (softneck, AGM) — well adapted to British conditions and an excellent keeper; a sound first choice.
- ‘Germidour’ (softneck, AGM) — reliable, large bulbs with a mild, rich flavour.
- ‘Cristo’ (softneck, AGM) — pure-white bulbs, strong flavour, stores well.
- ‘Carcassonne Wight’ (hardneck) — a robust, full-flavoured hardneck for colder gardens, with scapes.
- ‘Chesnok Red’ (hardneck) — purple-streaked and prized in the kitchen, especially roasted.
- Elephant garlic — not a true garlic but a leek relative, with a few very large, mild cloves. Best planted in October; lovely roasted whole.
Common garlic problems, and what they mean
- The bulb never divided into cloves. Almost always too little cold over winter. Plant earlier in autumn next time, choose a hardier variety, or chill spring cloves before planting.
- It flowered (bolted). Normal for hardnecks — remove and eat the scape. In a softneck it usually signals stress such as heat or drought.
- The bulbs split in the ground. Harvested too late. Lift when a third to a half of the leaves have yellowed.
- Green-tinged cloves. Usually from planting too shallow. Still good to eat, but they will not store as well.
- Orange spots, or soft bulbs with white fluff. Rust or white rot. Rust is cosmetic; white rot is serious and lingers in soil for years, so bin (do not compost) affected plants and do not grow alliums there again for several seasons.
Garlic planting: frequently asked questions
What is the best month to plant garlic in the UK?
October and November are the best months. Autumn planting gives the cloves time to root and take the winter cold they need to form a full bulb, which usually produces the largest, best-keeping garlic the following summer.
Can you plant garlic in spring in the UK?
Yes. If you miss autumn, plant in late winter or early spring (February to March) as soon as the soil is workable. Spring-planted garlic tends to give slightly smaller bulbs and is harvested a little later, but it grows well, and some varieties are bred for spring planting.
Can I plant garlic from the supermarket?
It is not recommended. Supermarket garlic is often grown in warmer climates and may not suit British conditions, and it can carry soil diseases such as white rot that persist for years. Use named seed garlic from a garden centre or seed supplier instead.
How deep and how far apart do you plant garlic cloves?
Plant each clove with the tip about 2.5cm (1in) below the surface, 15cm (6in) apart, in rows 30cm (1ft) apart. Plant a little deeper on light soil for bigger bulbs, but keep shallower on heavy, wet soil.
Can garlic be grown in pots?
Yes. Use a pot at least 25cm (10in) deep with good drainage and peat-free compost, plant the cloves to the same spacing as in the ground, and water in dry spells — containers dry out quickly. A single deep pot or windowbox gives a useful crop in the smallest of spaces.
When is garlic ready to harvest?
When the lower leaves turn yellow and start to flop, usually in early summer for autumn-planted garlic and a little later for spring-planted. Lift gently with a fork once about a third to a half of the leaves have yellowed; do not wait for the whole plant to collapse.
How long does garlic take to grow?
Autumn-planted garlic takes roughly eight to nine months from planting to harvest. Spring-planted garlic is quicker, but the bulbs are usually smaller.
Where to go next
Garlic is one of the easiest entries into growing your own, and it sits neatly alongside the rest of the kitchen garden. If you are building beds to grow it in, our guide to raised beds for vegetables is the place to start, and good soil makes all the difference — see how to start composting. For what else to get in alongside it, our month-by-month guides cover what to plant in June, July and August. And when the bulbs are cured and hanging in the shed, there is only one proper place for the first head: our leg of lamb with garlic and rosemary.
Written by Linda Garrould. Updated 15 June 2026. Growing guidance checked against Royal Horticultural Society advice.
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