How to grow your best ever garlic
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UK food prices are on track to be 50% higher by November 2026 than at the start of the cost of living crisis in mid-2021, according to the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit. The Food Foundation's August 2026 price tracker explains part of why: Britain imports 80% of its fruit and 47% of its vegetables, so the price of much of what lands in your basket is decided by the weather somewhere warmer than here.
Garlic is a good example. The UK imported 35,000 tonnes of it in 2024, almost all from Spain and China, despite it being one of the easiest crops you can grow at home. It also suits this time of year perfectly, going into the ground just as everything else is being cut back , and just as garden centres start turning their attention to autumn planting ranges. For retailers, that makes it a timely category to get right: seed garlic, growing media and autumn bulb ranges are exactly the kind of stock decisions being made on the show floor at Glee this September, where suppliers are already showcasing next season's autumn and winter planting lines. .
When should you plant garlic in the UK?
Mid-October to late November is the sweet spot, though planting can continue into early winter in milder areas. Garlic needs cold to divide properly. The RHS notes that garlic "usually requires a spell of cold to form a good bulb", with most varieties needing one to two months at 0 to 10°C. Plant too late and cloves miss that chilling period, producing one solid round rather than separate cloves.
Autumn planted garlic is ready to lift from late May for the earliest varieties, with most crops harvested in July, so it will occupy a bed for the best part of nine months.
Can you plant supermarket garlic?
It is the first thing most people try, and the honest answer is that it rarely works well. Supermarket garlic is usually grown in warmer countries with longer days, is often treated to stop it sprouting, and can carry viruses or soil-borne diseases that linger in your soil for years.
Certified seed garlic is virus screened and sold as varieties chosen for British conditions. It costs a few pounds a bulb, and you will find it in garden centres and seed catalogues from early autumn, usually next to the onion sets and spring bulbs.
What soil and site does garlic need?
Garlic wants full sun and free-draining soil that has not just been manured. Fresh manure encourages leafy growth at the expense of bulb size, so dig in well-rotted compost a few weeks ahead instead. Slightly alkaline soil suits it best.
Wet ground is the biggest cause of failure in a British winter. On heavy clay, start cloves in module trays in a cold frame, then plant out in early spring once the soil has dried. Raised ridges about 15cm high work too, as do containers at least 20cm deep filled with peat-free compost.
How do you plant garlic cloves correctly?
Split the bulb into cloves just before planting, keeping the papery skin on, and discard anything soft. Plant the fattest cloves and cook the small ones: bulb size next summer is largely decided by clove size now.
Set each clove flat end down and pointed tip up, 15cm apart with 2.5cm of soil above the tip, and 30cm between rows. Deeper planting produces larger bulbs on light soil, but not on heavy ground. Birds will pull newly planted cloves straight out, so cover the bed with netting or fleece until they have rooted.
How do you care for garlic over winter and spring?
Garlic is close to maintenance free, which is much of its appeal. Keep the bed weed free, because garlic competes badly with anything growing around it. Water only during prolonged dry spells in spring, when the bulbs are swelling, then stop a few weeks before lifting.
A high potassium feed in early spring supports bulb formation. If hardnecks send up a curling flower stalk, cut the scape off and cook it, as leaving it on diverts energy from the bulb. As with growing tomatoes, consistency beats intervention.
What usually goes wrong with garlic?
Rot over winter. Soggy soil is almost always the culprit. Move to modules, ridges or containers next season.
Rust. Orange pustules on the leaves are common in wet springs. It rarely kills the plant but shrinks the bulb, so space plants for airflow, avoid high nitrogen feeds and lift early if it spreads.
Small or single bulbs. Usually late planting, too little chilling, overcrowding or weeds.
Split bulbs. A sign of harvesting too late. Lift when the lower leaves have yellowed but the plant is still upright.
White rot. White fluffy growth at the base, and the one to take seriously, as it survives in soil for years. Rotate your alliums and grow in containers on affected ground.
Which garlic varieties should you grow?
- 'Solent Wight' A softneck that stores into the following spring and one of the most reliable performers in UK conditions
- 'Early Purple Wight' The earliest of the lot, sometimes ready in late May, though it needs eating rather than storing
- 'Germidour' A dependable softneck with violet-tinged skin and a mild flavour, forgiving for first-time growers
- 'Chesnok Wight' A hardneck prized for baking and roasting, with fewer but much larger cloves
- 'Elephant garlic' Not a true garlic but a relative of the leek, producing enormous, mild bulbs that suit roasting whole
How do you harvest and store garlic?
Lift bulbs with a fork rather than pulling, then dry them somewhere airy and out of the rain for two to three weeks. Softnecks keep for up to nine months and can be plaited. Hardnecks are shorter lived at three to six months, but usually taste better.
Few crops give back as much for as little effort. One afternoon in October, a little weeding in spring, and you have a year's worth of something you would otherwise buy every few weeks, in a variety you chose.
If you like what you've seen here, why not join us in-person for the retail event of the season? Glee runs from 8-10 September 2026 at the NEC, Birmingham, co- Register for free here, and join our newsletter for the latest updates before the show.