Video by the Royal Horticultural Society. This guide draws on the "Grow your own garlic: Planting and choosing varieties" video from the RHS, the UK’s leading gardening charity. The video covers variety selection and the essentials of getting a good bulb, and is well worth watching before you order your first bag of seed garlic.
1. Choose the right variety for UK conditions
Garlic splits into two main groups: hardneck and softneck. Hardneck varieties — such as ‘Chesnok Red’ or ‘Rocambole’ — tend to suit the UK climate better and develop a stronger flavour. They produce a scape (a curling flower stem) in early summer, which you can cut and eat.
Softneck varieties like ‘Solent Wight’ store for longer after harvest and are the type you typically see plaited. Either works well in a UK garden. Buy from a reputable supplier rather than using supermarket garlic — imported bulbs may not be suited to UK conditions and can carry disease.
2. Prepare the soil before planting
Garlic likes a sunny spot with well-drained soil. If your garden has heavy clay that sits wet over winter, the cloves are likely to rot. In that case, plant into containers or raised beds using a good multipurpose compost mixed with some grit.
Dig a little well-rotted compost or garden manure into the planting area a few weeks before you plant. Garlic is not a heavy feeder, but it appreciates a bed that is open and not compacted. If the soil is very acid, rake in a handful of lime — garlic prefers a pH around 6.5 to 7.
3. Plant the cloves in autumn
October and November are the ideal planting months in the UK. Garlic needs a cold period — called vernalisation — to form proper bulbs rather than just a single undivided clove. That cold period comes naturally from being in the ground over winter.
Break the bulb into individual cloves and plant each one pointed end up, about 2.5 cm below the surface and 15 cm apart in rows 30 cm apart. Firm the soil gently. The tips usually show above the surface within a few weeks, which is a good sign.
4. Keep weeds down through winter and spring
Garlic does not compete well with weeds. Hoe between the rows every couple of weeks to keep the bed clear, or use a mulch of straw or composted bark around the plants to suppress weeds without smothering them.
Watering is rarely needed in winter, but if you get a dry spring, give the bed a good soak every week or two. Stop watering in early summer as the leaves begin to turn yellow — the bulbs need to dry off underground before harvest.
5. Feed in spring
Once the days lengthen and the plants begin putting on growth in March and April, give them a general-purpose fertiliser to support leaf development. A balanced granular feed raked in around the plants works well.
If your hardneck variety produces scapes, cut them off once they have made a full curl. This directs the plant’s energy into the bulb rather than into seed production. The scapes are excellent in stir fries and pestos — a genuinely useful harvest in their own right.
6. Harvest when the leaves turn yellow
Garlic is ready to lift when roughly half the leaves have turned yellow, typically between June and August depending on the variety and the season. Do not wait until all the leaves have gone — by then the papery skins around the bulb may have broken down.
Ease the bulbs out with a fork rather than pulling by the stem. Lay them on the surface for a day or two to begin drying, then move them somewhere airy and sheltered. A greenhouse staging, an open shed, or under a porch all work well.
7. Dry and store properly
Curing garlic properly is what makes it last. After a few days in the open air, move the bulbs somewhere dry and well ventilated — not a damp shed or a garage that gets humid. Hang them in bunches or lay them on slatted trays for three to four weeks.
Once the skins are papery and the stems have dried out, trim the roots, cut the stem back to a few centimetres, and store in a cool, dry place. Hardneck varieties keep for three to six months; softnecks can last up to a year if stored correctly.
When to call a handyman
Garlic does not really need a handyman — this is one of the easiest vegetables you can grow. That said, if the raised bed needs building, the soil needs improving significantly, or the garden needs a general tidy before you plant, Richard can help with that side of things.
Need help getting the garden ready for growing?
The Sandwich Handyman can help with raised bed construction, garden clearance, and general garden improvements in Sandwich, Kent.
Contact Richard