How to plant garlic in Massachusetts
Garlic is planted in fall and harvested the following summer. In Massachusetts and the rest of New England, hardneck varieties do best: they need a cold winter to form proper bulbs, and they reward you with a bonus crop of scapes in June.
When to plant
Aim for mid-October to early November, a few weeks before the ground freezes. That gives the cloves time to grow roots but not much top growth before winter. If you're late, you can still plant until the soil is too hard to dig; the harvest may just be a little smaller.
Soil and site
- Full sun, in a bed that drains well. Garlic rots in soil that stays wet over winter.
- Work in compost before planting. Garlic is a heavy feeder, and loose soil lets the bulbs size up.
- Don't plant where garlic or onions grew in the last few years, to avoid carrying over disease.
Planting, step by step
- Break the bulbs into cloves just before planting. Keep the papery skins on, and plant the biggest cloves: big cloves make big bulbs.
- Set each clove pointed end up, about 2 inches deep.
- Space cloves about 6 inches apart, in rows about 12 inches apart.
- Water once if the soil is dry.
- After the ground starts to freeze, mulch with 4–6 inches of clean straw or shredded leaves. Mulch protects the cloves from heaving out of the ground during freeze-thaw cycles.
Spring and summer
Green shoots come up through the mulch in early spring. Leave the mulch in place to hold moisture and keep weeds down. Garlic competes poorly with weeds, so keep the bed clean.
Scapes are the curly flower stalks hardnecks send up in June. Cut them once they curl: the plant puts more energy into the bulb, and scapes are excellent in stir-fries and pesto.
Harvest and curing
Harvest in July, once the lower few leaves have browned but the upper ones are still green. Loosen the soil with a fork rather than pulling by the stem. Cure the plants whole, out of the sun in a dry, airy place, for two to three weeks. Then trim the roots and stems and store the bulbs somewhere cool and dry.
Seed garlic from Groton
We grow hardneck seed garlic in Groton, Massachusetts: porcelain and purple-stripe varieties that handle New England winters. See our seed garlic varieties and reserve for next season.
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