Garlic cloves ready to be planted.

I managed to plant my garlic at exactly the right time last year. The soil finally thawed after a few nights of frost, and I was able to put the cloves in the ground. The snow started to fall just a few days later. All you can do after that is wait.

You plant the garlic in late fall, clove by clove. They stay in the soil all winter and get a growth spurt in spring. The bulb develops during summer and you can start harvesting your garlic in the end of July.

Learn more about how to plant garlic here:

You can start planting garlic in September-October, or even until December if the ground is not frozen. Some plant their garlic at the end of the year and get ok results. This might be more difficult due to the weather conditions though. If you were not able to start planting garlic before the snow came, you could always put the cloves in troughs or pots for now. Put the pots in a pile of leaves, or dig them down in your greenhouse. When spring comes, you can plant your garlic in the beds outside.

Garlic is one of my favorite things to grow here in the kitchen garden, so I have plenty of content on how to grow it. Check out this video on how to grow garlic in pots:

I just want to finish by saying that you don't have to panic if the garlic starts to sprout before winter comes. Stay calm, it will most likely do fine through the winter. Garlic is after all very hardy!

Make sure to buy your garlic (the bulbs that are sold specifically for planting) early so you don't go short. The regular garden shops will usually have garlic available in late summer or early fall, but you have more options to choose from if you buy online of course. Don't use garlic bulbs from the supermarket since they might be contaminated or treated with chemicals.

If you want to read and see more from my garden, check out Sara's Kitchen Garden here:

Sara's Kitchen Garden at Facebook
Facebook group: The Kitchen Garden - Worldwide
Sara's Kitchen Garden on YouTube
Letter from the garden - newsletter from Sara's Kitchen Garden

Have fun planting your garlic cloves, and don't forget to plant plenty!
/Sara Bäckmo