Fall is getting closer, and that means one of our favorite times of year is almost here: planting garlic.

If you've already ordered your organic garlic seed, now is the time to get your garden ready.

And if you haven't ordered yet, don't wait too long.

Popular varieties like Music, Chesnok Red, Russian Red, German White, Metechi, and Spanish Roja can sell out as planting season approaches.

The good news? Planting garlic doesn't have to be complicated.

Give your garlic healthy soil, good drainage, enough room to grow, and a nice cold winter. You're already off to a great start.

Here's what to do before your garlic arrives, when it gets there, and when it's finally time to plant.

 

Step 1: Choose Where You're Planting Garlic

Start with sunshine.

Garlic does best in a location with plenty of direct sun and well-drained soil.

Avoid low spots where water tends to collect. Garlic doesn't like sitting in soggy ground.

Growing in raised beds? Even better. Raised beds can make it easier to create loose soil and good drainage.

Planting directly in the ground works great, too.

The most important thing is giving your garlic's roots room to grow.

 

Step 2: Prep Your Ground Before Your Garlic Arrives

Don't wait until planting day to start digging.

Preparing your garlic bed ahead of time gives the soil time to settle and makes planting much easier.

Our Simple Garlic Bed Prep Checklist

• Pull the weeds.
  • Start with a clean planting area so your garlic isn't competing for water and nutrients.
• Remove old plant debris.
  • Clear away leftover plants, roots, and anything else that could get in the way.
• Loosen the soil 8–10 inches deep.
  • Loose soil gives garlic roots room to spread and bulbs room to develop.
• Add compost or organic matter.
  • Well-aged compost can improve soil texture and add organic matter.
• Check your drainage.
  • If water tends to pool in your garden, consider raised beds or improve the soil before planting.
• Get a soil test if you're unsure.

Instead of guessing about fertilizer, a soil test can help tell you what your garden actually needs.

Now your bed is ready.

 

Step 3: What Should You Do When Your Garlic Arrives?

First: open the box.

Don't leave your seed garlic sitting unopened for weeks.

Take a look at your bulbs and keep them somewhere dry with good airflow until you're ready to plant.

Keep the Bulbs Whole Until Planting

Don't immediately break all of your organic garlic cloves apart.

Garlic stores better as a whole bulb, so wait until shortly before planting to separate the cloves.

When planting time arrives, gently break each bulb apart.

Try to keep the papery wrapper around each clove intact.

Then choose your cloves.

Big, healthy cloves are what you want going into the garden.

 

Step 4: Which End of a Garlic Clove Goes Up?

This is one of the most common questions from first-time garlic growers.

For hardneck garlic, the answer is simple:

• Pointy End = UP
• Flat Root End = DOWN

Plant each hardneck clove approximately 2-4 inches deep and space cloves roughly 6 inches apart.

But there is an important exception:

What About Softneck Garlic?

Softneck garlic is a little different.

Unlike hardneck garlic, softneck cloves don't need to be planted pointed end up. They can be planted in either orientation and will still grow.

Softneck garlic also doesn't produce the tall scape that hardneck varieties are known for.

If you're growing both types, don't worry about making them follow exactly the same rules. Choose varieties that suit your climate and growing goals, then give each one the conditions it needs to thrive.

If you're planting in rows, leave enough space to weed, mulch, and work comfortably in the garden.

That's it.

No special garlic-planting machine required.

Around here, a lot of garlic gets planted one clove at a time.

 

Step 5: Don't Plant the Whole Garlic Bulb

Remember: a garlic bulb is made up of individual cloves.

Each organic garlic clove becomes one garlic plant.

That single clove will eventually produce an entirely new bulb made up of multiple cloves.

So, if your bulb has eight good-sized cloves, you've potentially got eight garlic plants.

That's one of the things we love most about growing garlic.

One clove in. One garlic plant out.

 

Step 6: When Should You Plant Garlic?

Garlic needs time to establish roots before winter.

But you don't want to plant so early that it puts too much energy into top growth before cold weather arrives.

A good general target is to plant after the first frost and a few weeks before the ground freezes solid.

Your planting window depends on where you live.

For us here in Zone 6, that generally means mid to late November. We used to plant in October, but we've found that planting later works better for our conditions.

Planting time in Minnesota isn't the same as planting time in Georgia. That's also why we don't ship everyone's garlic on the exact same day.

At Mad River Garlic Growers, our fall garlic is offered as a pre-order and ships at planting time based on where it's going.

When that box arrives, you'll know: It's almost time to get planting.

 

Step 7: Mulch After Planting

If you live in a colder growing region, a layer of clean straw mulch can help protect your garlic through winter.

Mulch can help:

• Moderate soil temperatures
• Reduce repeated freezing and thawing
• Conserve moisture
• Suppress weeds
• Protect the bed through winter

A few inches of clean straw is usually plenty.

Then your garlic gets to spend the winter quietly developing roots beneath the soil.

Come spring, you'll start seeing those green shoots emerge.

That's when the real fun begins.

 

Which Organic Garlic Should You Plant?

One of the hardest parts of ordering organic garlic seed might be deciding which varieties to grow.

Our suggestion? Try more than one.

Different garlic families offer different flavors, clove sizes, storage characteristics, and growing experiences.

Here are a few favorites to consider.

 

Music Garlic Bulbs

Music garlic is one of our most popular Porcelain varieties.

If you're searching for Music garlic for sale, order early because this one is always a customer favorite.

Music produces large, easy-to-peel cloves and a classic, rich garlic flavor.

And those large cloves make it especially satisfying to plant.

One clove in. One big garlic plant out.

Chesnok Red Garlic

Chesnok Red garlic is a beautiful Purple Stripe variety and one of our longtime favorites.

You may also see gardeners searching for garlic Chesnok Red or red Chesnok garlic. They're looking for the same much-loved variety.

Chesnok Red is especially popular for cooking and roasting.

When roasted, it develops a rich, almost creamy flavor.

If you're planting garlic because you love cooking with it, this one belongs in the garden.

Russian Red Garlic

Russian Red garlic, also commonly searched as Red Russian garlic, is another beautiful Purple Stripe variety.

It has gorgeous purple skins and a strong, rich garlic flavor.

It's also one of those varieties people grow once and then want to grow again the following year.

That's how garlic gardens get bigger.

Metechi Garlic

If you like your garlic with some personality, plant Metechi garlic.

Metechi is a Marbled Purple Stripe with a bold, spicy flavor.

It holds onto a good garlic flavor after roasting, making it a great choice for gardeners who prefer stronger garlic.

Spanish Roja Garlic

There's a reason Spanish Roja garlic has such a loyal following.

Spanish Roja is a classic Rocambole garlic known for exceptional flavor.

Rocamboles are favorites among serious garlic lovers, chefs, and gardeners who are growing primarily for flavor.

If you've never grown Rocambole garlic before, this is a great variety to add to your garden.

German White Garlic

German White garlic is another popular hardneck choice.

Porcelain garlic varieties are known for their large cloves, strong plants, and classic garlic flavor.

For newer growers who want big, easy-to-handle cloves, Porcelains like German White and Music are especially fun to plant.

Inchelium Red Garlic

Inchelium Red garlic, sometimes searched as Red Inchelium garlic, is different from the hardneck varieties above.

It's an Artichoke softneck garlic with multiple layers of cloves and a milder, lingering flavor.

Because it's a softneck, it doesn't require the same pointed-end-up planting orientation as hardneck garlic.

Inchelium Red also performs well in southern regions, making it worth considering if you're gardening somewhere without the long, cold winters that hardneck garlic traditionally loves.

 

Hardneck Garlic Seeds Aren't Really Seeds

Here's a little garlic terminology that can be confusing when you're first getting started.

When gardeners search for hardneck garlic seeds, they're usually looking for seed garlic.

You're not planting a traditional little seed from a packet.

You're planting individual cloves from a garlic bulb.

You may see terms such as:

• Organic garlic seed
• Hardneck garlic seed
• Hardneck garlic seeds
• Organic garlic cloves
• Seed garlic
• Garlic bulbs for planting

These are all ways gardeners search for garlic intended to go into the ground rather than directly into dinner.

 

Make Garlic Planting a Family Day

Garlic planting is one of our favorite garden jobs to do with kids.

The holes are easy to make.

The cloves are big enough for little hands.

And there's something pretty amazing about showing a child that the single clove they're holding can turn into an entire bulb next summer.

Give them a row of their own.

Hand them a Kids Apron.

Let them get dirty.

And don't worry if every clove isn't lined up with military precision.

Gardening should be fun.

For the adults, a good farm apron is pretty handy too. There's always a marker, garden tool, phone, or handful of garlic cloves that needs a pocket.

 

Thinking Ahead to Potatoes?

Once you've caught the grow-your-own-food bug, garlic usually isn't the end of it.

While fall is garlic planting season, you can also start thinking ahead to next year's potato garden.

Our Organic Seed Potatoes and Heirloom Seed Potatoes are another easy way to grow more of your own food.

And yes, that includes customer favorites such as Yukon Gold potato seeds.

Garlic in the fall. Potatoes in the spring.

That's a pretty good start to next year's garden.

 

Order Organic Garlic Seed Before Your Favorites Are Gone

The most important thing you can do right now? Get ready.

Prepare your soil before your garlic arrives so planting day is simple.

And if you haven't ordered your garlic yet, don't wait until the last minute.

Some of our most popular varieties can sell out as fall approaches.

Whether you're looking for organic garlic, organic garlic seed, organic garlic cloves, Music garlic bulbs, Russian Red garlic, Chesnok Red garlic, Spanish Roja garlic, German White garlic, Metechi garlic, or flavorful Rocambole garlic, now is the time to reserve what you want.

Then we'll do our part.

We'll get your garlic ready and ship it when it's time to plant in your area.

You get the garden ready.

When the box arrives, grab your cloves, grab your shovel, and get planting.

SHOP ORGANIC GARLIC SEED →

Happy planting from all of us at Mad River Garlic Growers. 🌱