Planting garlic in October: depth, spacing and choosing the right variety
Now is the window for garlic: cloves planted by mid-November become fat bulbs next summer. A few simple numbers make it work well.
Garlic is one of the most rewarding crops in the garden because it actually needs the winter. The cloves root in autumn, rest through the cold months and take off early in spring. Plant now and you will have bulbs in July that keep into next year.
Why October is the right window
The cloves should root before winter but not yet sprout above ground. In most regions of Austria, Germany and Switzerland, mid-October to mid-November fits well. The soil is still warm enough for roots and cool enough to avoid long top growth. If you plant later, it usually still works until the first hard frost, but the bulbs often end up a little smaller.
Depth and spacing in numbers
Plant the cloves pointy end up, about 4 to 5 centimetres deep, so roughly twice the height of the clove is covered with soil. Space them 10 to 15 centimetres apart in the row and 20 to 25 centimetres between rows. That gives each plant room for a fat bulb and lets the foliage dry out well in spring. On one square metre you fit roughly 30 to 40 plants.
Planting stock instead of supermarket bulbs
Use seed garlic from a garden centre or a farm in your region. Supermarket garlic often comes from warmer countries, is bred for different conditions and can introduce problems such as stem nematodes or viruses. Pick the largest, healthy cloves from a bulb; the small inner ones are fine for the kitchen. Hardneck varieties form a flower stalk and are very winter-hardy, softneck types store longer but benefit from some winter protection in harsh locations.
Crop rotation and neighbours
Like onions and leeks, garlic belongs to the allium family. Do not plant it where onions, leeks or chives grew in the past three to four years, or the risk of rust and soil-borne fungi goes up. Good neighbours are strawberries, carrots, beetroot and tomatoes. Keep it away from beans and peas, which do not get along well with alliums.
Mulching and looking ahead to spring
A thin layer of leaves or straw, 3 to 5 centimetres thick, protects the cloves from bare frost and keeps weeds down. In spring you push it aside once the shoots come through. Harvest is usually in June or July, when the lower leaves turn yellow but three or four green leaves remain. Then let the bulbs dry in an airy, shady spot.
Keep the garlic spot in your bed plan
To remember where garlic grew three years from now, a short note pays off. In Rootivo you mark in the bed editor which area held alliums, so you keep your crop rotation in view without digging through old notes.