What You Need to Know About Planting Winter Garlic? 0 57

When to Plant Garlic for Winter?

Planting should be done 3–4 weeks before the onset of stable cold weather. The main rule is that the cloves should take root but not sprout. For this, the soil should cool down (to about 10 degrees), but not freeze yet. In principle, if you haven't planted garlic yet, do it urgently.

Choosing a Location and Preparing the Bed

Garlic loves sunny, well-ventilated areas with neutral or slightly alkaline soil. The best predecessors are legumes, zucchini, early cabbage, and cucumbers.

The bed should be prepared in advance: the soil is dug up to the depth of a spade, adding compost (not fresh manure!), a little ash, and superphosphate (spread evenly about a cup per square meter before digging). After leveling, the soil is lightly compacted — garlic does not like loose bedding.

Garlic Planting Scheme

The optimal scheme is 20–25 cm between rows and 8–10 cm between cloves. This planting provides sufficient feeding area and facilitates care in spring. If you plan to grow large garlic, the distance can be increased to 30 cm between rows and 12 cm between holes.

Cloves are placed with the pointed end down, carefully to avoid damaging the root part. For even placement, it is convenient to use a marker — a plank with pegs or simply make holes with a stick.

Planting Depth

The depth depends on the type of soil.

In light, sandy soils, cloves are buried to a depth of 7–8 cm.
In heavy, clayey soils — to a depth of 5–6 cm.
The main thing is to leave a layer of soil on top of at least 3–4 cm; otherwise, the cloves may freeze in winter.
Experienced gardeners recommend orienting by the size of the clove itself: the planting depth should be about three times its height.

After planting, the bed is leveled and lightly compacted with the palm — this helps the soil better contact with the base, and the roots sprout faster.

How to Cover Garlic for Winter?

After the first frosts, the bed needs to be covered. Use dry leaves, spruce branches, straw, peat, or compost — with a layer of 5–7 cm. This will protect the cloves from freezing and drying out. In regions with harsh winters, you can additionally cover the bed with spunbond or agrotextile, securing it with stones around the edges.

In early spring, as soon as the snow melts, remove the cover so that the soil warms up and the shoots do not rot.

Helpful Tip

If you want to get particularly large heads, do not plant garlic “in a bunch.” Space and air between plants are the key to health and a good harvest. And to ensure the bed is not empty in summer, you can plant salads, beets, transplant strawberries, or legumes in the place of harvested garlic.