Garlic: Planting, Growing and Harvesting in the Vegetable Garden

Description and botany

Garlic is a plant native to various regions of the globe, believed to originate from Central Asia, the Mediterranean, the Caucasus and Afghanistan. The first traces of garlic cultivation date back 5000 years, in ancient Egypt where it was consumed by pyramid builders to increase their strength and immune defences. Its cultivation then spread through the Greeks and Romans, before progressing throughout the rest of Europe.

The common name “garlic” comes from the Latin name, Allium, whose origin is uncertain. It may derive from the Latin olere, “to smell” or from the Greek hallesthai, “to spring up”. The Greeks called garlic “scorodon”. The species name, sativum, means “to cultivate”. Un ail… des aulx or des ails. Both plural forms are accepted. The first version is older, while the second, initially used in botany, is becoming more widespread.

Garlic – Allium sativum var. sativum – is a root vegetable from the Liliaceae or Amaryllidaceae family (in phylogenetic classification), like onions, shallots and leeks. This herbaceous, monocotyledonous plant is a bulbous, perennial and very hardy, though it is cultivated as an annual or biennial. Garlic takes the form of a bulb or “head”, composed of several cloves called caïeux. These are planted in the ground and develop into new garlic heads.

The erect, linear leaves sheath the stems and are fragrant when crushed. Some garlic varieties form an inflorescence, such as the ‘Rose de Lautrec’ variety. Others fail to produce a flower stalk, particularly white garlic varieties like ‘Thermidrome’ and ‘Germidour’. Cultivated garlic varieties are uniquely classified into five groups based on their enzymatic profile and botanical characteristics. The presence or absence of a flower stalk is included in this classification. From the floral stem, 30 to 80 cm tall, blooms an umbel with mostly sterile white or pink flowers that blossom in summer. Between the flowers are floral bulbils that fall to the ground and produce new plants, particularly in the case of rocambole garlic.

Garlic heads with clearly visible cloves – garlic plant in cultivation

Rocambole garlic flowers interspersed with bulbils

Garlic varieties

Varieties to plant in spring

Varieties to plant in autumn

Other garlic species

Spring Garlic - Allium sativum

Printanor garlic is a pink spring-planting variety with good productivity, producing numerous medium-sized cloves with pink skin and white flesh. This garlic does not produce a flower stalk.

• Height at maturity 30 cm

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Gayant Pink Garlic plants - Allium sativum

Gayant pink garlic is a late spring variety that produces medium-sized bulbs with numerous tightly packed, rosy cloves and white flesh.

• Height at maturity 30 cm

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Arno Pink Garlic - Allium sativum

Arno pink garlic is a spring variety that produces medium-sized bulbs with numerous round, fragrant cloves, rosy in colour with white flesh. This late variety stores well.

• Height at maturity 30 cm

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Garlic Flavor - Allium sativum

Flavor garlic is a late pink spring variety, producing bulbs with light pink cloves. This regenerated variety is free from onion yellow dwarf virus.

• Height at maturity 30 cm

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Germidour Garlic plants (autumn planting) - Allium sativum

Germidour garlic is a violet autumn variety, producing large bulbs with anthocyanin striations and large cloves with white flesh and a pronounced flavour. This seasonal variety is productive and free from OYDV virus.

• Height at maturity 30 cm

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Messidrome Garlic plants (autumn planting) - Allium sativum

Messidrome white garlic is an autumn variety. It produces white bulbs with numerous large, cream-coloured cloves. This seasonal variety is productive and free from OYDV virus.

• Height at maturity 30 cm

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Bear's Garlic - Allium ursinum

Wild garlic (ramsons) is a small bulb naturally found in woodlands. It produces beautiful white flowers in spring. Every part of this culinary and medicinal plant is edible: bulbs, flower buds, and leaves.

• Flowering time May, June
• Height at maturity 20 cm

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Rocambole Garlic - Allium scorodoprasum

Rocambole garlic belongs to a different species - Allium scorodoprasum - producing aerial bulbils at the end of a spiralled flower stalk. It is very hardy and can remain in the vegetable garden for several years. All parts are edible: underground bulbs, aerial bulbils, and leaves, which can be used like chives.

• Height at maturity 80 cm

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Planting garlic

Companion Planting with Garlic in the Vegetable Garden

Garlic gets along well with plants from the Rosaceae family, as it helps prevent fungal diseases in fruit trees and berries such as apple trees, pear trees, peach trees, raspberries, strawberries, and even rose bushes. To improve tomato quality, it is recommended to plant a garlic bulb at the base of each tomato plant. Use the inner cloves for these companion plantings, and save the outer cloves for your garlic rows intended for consumption.

Garlic can also be a poor companion for certain vegetables. Indeed, many gardeners agree that Fabaceae (beans, broad beans, and peas) and Brassicaceae (cabbages, turnips, rocket, radishes) generally dislike the presence of garlic and other plants from the Liliaceae family. Avoid planting them nearby.

Growing and Caring for Garlic

Hoe and weed regularly, especially at the beginning of cultivation. Weeding should be gentle and shallow near the plants, as garlic roots grow close to the surface.

Water garlic only during prolonged dry spells, from May onwards. Mulching is possible in light soil from May, once the soil has warmed sufficiently. For this, preferably use dry mulches like straw. Avoid damp grass at all costs!

Avoid planting garlic near leeks or onions, as they are susceptible to the same diseases.

Never spray nettle manure on garlic, as the smell of this extract attracts onion flies.

Some gardeners tie or bend the foliage two weeks before harvest to concentrate sap in the bulb and thus increase bulb size. This is a fairly common practice, though it is not scientifically proven to actually enlarge the bulbs. Another advantage of this technique is that it helps dry the foliage more quickly as harvest approaches.

→ Learn more in our tutorial: How to Harvest and Store Garlic?

Garlic during cultivation

Common Diseases and Pests of Garlic

Garlic Rust

It’s ironic that this vegetable, renowned for its excellent antifungal properties, should be so susceptible to rust, a fungal disease!

The culprit behind rust is the fungus Puccinia allii, which thrives in damp weather when temperatures hover around 18°C. It is most commonly encountered in spring, and depending on the severity of the attack, this disease can significantly harm the harvest. However, if rust appears just a few weeks before harvest, its impact will be minimal. There are regions where this disease is particularly frequent and aggressive.

The symptoms are easy to spot, appearing as small rust-coloured spots and pustules on the leaves. In severe cases, the spots merge and eventually cause the leaves to dry out completely, which inevitably affects the development of the cloves.

To combat garlic rust:

• As a preventive measure, avoid wetting the foliage when watering.
• Always adhere to a crop rotation of 4 to 5 years between garlic plantings (and with other allium family vegetables).
• In biodynamic farming, a horsetail decoction is used to prevent its appearance. Horsetail keeps the fungus in its natural environment—the soil.
• If the disease develops, don’t wait for it to spread. Remove the affected parts carefully, avoiding contact with the pustules to prevent contaminating healthy areas. Dispose of infected material.

Rust pustules on garlic leaves

Onion Fly

The onion fly—Delia antiqua—is a pest that attacks garlic and can cause significant crop loss. The fly larvae are responsible for the damage. Symptoms include an overall weakening of the plant. The leaves turn yellow, and the plant eventually dies. When these signs appear, simply uproot the infected plant to find maggots feeding on the bulb. Destroy contaminated plants to prevent the larvae from spreading. Unfortunately, the larvae have an uncanny ability to move from one plant to another!

To prevent onion fly infestations:

• Avoid applying nettle manure to garlic crops, as its odour attracts these flies.
• An infusion of tansy is an effective preventive treatment.
• Insect-proof mesh remains the best solution if the problem is recurrent in your vegetable garden.

Harvesting and Storing Garlic

Garlic can be harvested at different stages of maturity from April until July:

• Green garlic (grown from inner cloves) is harvested when the stems reach 20 to 30 cm in height.
• Fresh garlic is harvested from autumn-planted garlic (white and purple varieties) in April and May, while still green with formed cloves but before the bulbs separate.
• Garlic scapes (from pink varieties) are harvested in May and June.
• Cured garlic is harvested when the leaves have withered. Lift the bulbs and let them dry for a few days on dry soil in the shade (to avoid sunburn). They can be braided and hung to aid drying.

Garlic is harvested at different stages: Green garlic – Fresh garlic – Cured garlic

Garlic bulbs can be stored for several months and up to a year. Pink and purple varieties keep better than white garlic.

To store cured garlic properly:

• Keep garlic away from light to prevent cloves from turning green over time.
• Store in a well-ventilated area to reduce the risk of mould.
• Damaged bulbs should be set aside and used first to avoid contaminating other cloves.

Proper drying is essential for good garlic bulb storage.

Uses and benefits

Garlic is a key ingredient in many dishes and sauces, an essential component of aïoli, that famous Mediterranean sauce, or rouille, which enhances bouillabaisse, not to mention snail butter. In spring, enjoy harvesting your green garlic to eat it raw by mixing it into salads or adding it to dishes at the end of cooking. When harvested at maturity, there’s no need to remove the germ for the first few months; later, when sprouts form, removing the germ makes garlic easier to digest. It’s best used finely sliced or crushed in a garlic press and always added at the end of cooking to preserve its flavour and numerous health benefits.

We’re all equal when it comes to the temporary halitosis caused by garlic, but despite this drawback, this powerful condiment has multiple health benefits. You can reduce bad breath by eating parsley! Pink garlic is also milder than white garlic.

Garlic is very rich in selenium and sulphur compounds, including many antioxidants. It contains a good amount of vitamins A, B and C. It’s an excellent prebiotic due to its inulin content. It’s safe to say that Lebanese garlic sauce (made with yoghurt) would be ideal for strengthening gut flora! It’s also known for its powerful antibacterial and antiviral effects, particularly against the common cold virus. Garlic is also very good for the heart—it thins the blood, lowers blood pressure and reduces cholesterol levels. According to various scientific studies, daily garlic consumption could halve the risk of digestive cancers, including stomach, colon and rectal cancers, though it should be eaten raw.

→ Also discover Garlic Purin or Garlic Decoction: Recipe and Garden Uses and How to Make 100% Homemade Garlic Powder? in our tutorials!