Garlic isn’t just a kitchen staple—it’s a touch of garden magic wrapped in papery skin. Whether you roast it until buttery-sweet, mince it into a zesty pasta sauce, or braid it into a rustic display, garlic deserves its superstar status.
But here’s the thing: once you taste homegrown garlic, you’ll see that the grocery store version is like a faded photocopy of the real thing. Garlic from your garden, fresh, juicy, and bursting with flavor, is one of the simplest (and most satisfying) crops you’ll ever grow.
Global Garlic for Domestic Tastes
Garlic consumption has more than tripled in the United States since 1980. According to Penn State Extension, the average person eats about three pounds of garlic a year, totaling around 850 million pounds based on U.S. population data.
In the U.S., domestic garlic is mainly cultivated in California, with smaller quantities produced in Oregon, Washington, Nevada, and New York. Most of the 400 million pounds grown stay within the country; only a small portion (about 8,000 pounds) is exported.
Based on these numbers, it’s clear that we can’t produce enough garlic domestically to meet our tastes. That’s where imports come in.
Today, most fresh garlic sold in grocery stores is imported from China, and to a lesser degree, Spain, Argentina, Mexico, and Peru.
I use the term “fresh” loosely here. Depending on the source of the imports, the garlic in your grocery store could be over 6 months old.
Consider the time it takes garlic to cure, be processed, and be stored after harvesting. Then it must clear customs at the origin point, travel across the ocean (on the slow boat, as they say), clear customs in the U.S., and be stored again before being shipped out across the country. I’m weary just writing about its journey!
However, does that make imported garlic a bad thing? No, of course not. Fresh? Hmm, maybe not so much.
Why Store-Bought Garlic Can’t Match Homegrown
Given that imported garlic is relatively inexpensive (for now) and widely available year-round, should you bother growing it yourself?
If you have to ask, then it’s obvious, my gardening friend, that you’ve never experienced homegrown garlic.
It comes down to one thing: taste.
Nothing compares to the incredibly fresh and juicy flavor of homegrown garlic. So, yes, grow garlic in your garden. I promise, you’ll never want to buy garlic from the grocery store again.
Plant Garlic Now, Thank Yourself Later
Garlic is one of the easiest plants to grow in the garden. It’s relatively disease and pest-free and requires only a small space to yield a nice harvest. It’s magical how a single clove of garlic can turn into a plump, juicy bulb with almost no effort on your part.
In our region, garlic is planted in the fall, from late September to mid-October—a time when many gardeners are hanging up their trowels. But don’t put it away just yet; you have one more crop to plant.
While fall planting allows the cloves to develop roots and become established before the ground freezes, there is one crucial reason for fall planting: unlike onions and other allium family crops, hardneck garlic requires vernalization—a cold period—to develop into bulbs properly.
Exposure to in-ground temperatures of 40°F or less for four to eight weeks triggers garlic to split into individual cloves and promotes healthy bulb development. By spring, tender shoots will emerge from the soil, followed by harvest time in mid-summer.
And that means garlic is an eight- to nine-month crop, but for most of that time, your garden bed would be empty, so why not put it to good use?
Another benefit: garlic serves as a companion plant that repels pests like aphids, spider mites, and cabbage loopers, as well as larger pests such as rabbits and deer. Take advantage of this by planting a garlic border around your bed instead of in rows to keep pests at bay when you grow your spring crops.
Garlic requires full sun and thrives in well-draining, fertile, loamy soil. To grow big bulbs, layer on quality compost to boost organic matter and drainage, and add a phosphorus-rich fertilizer like bone meal for strong root development.
Read more detailed information on types of garlic to grow, and planting, and harvesting. See all articles on garlic here: https://bit.ly/46XHLo7
Meet the Garlicky Cast
There are two types of garlic: softneck and hardneck, each with several subtypes and many cultivars—all with different flavor profiles, from mild to spicy-hot.
Softneck is most commonly imported and grown in the U.S.—for good reason, due to its tight bulb wrappers, it stores for up to a year. Softneck favors a warmer growing climate and is known for its braidable leaves, mild flavor, and large bulbs with up to 25 cloves.
A popular regional cultivar is ‘Inchelium Red’, discovered on the Colville Indian Reservation in Washington State. It features a mild flavor and is great when baked.
In contrast, hardneck garlic is highly cold-tolerant and is primarily cultivated in the northern regions of the country, like ours. It’s the type that most local gardeners plant.
With hardneck varieties, you also get an extra harvest from the flower stalk called a “scape,” which appears in late spring. The curly scapes are removed to redirect the plant’s energy into producing larger bulbs. They are a fleeting culinary treat that can be used as a substitute for garlic in any recipe.
Hardneck varieties have fewer but larger cloves per bulb compared to softneck types, and they have a much shorter shelf life—usually under 6 months—and are easier to peel. A few excellent hardneck types to grow include Chesnok Red, Music, or Russian Red.
Picking Your Perfect Clove
With so many garlic varieties and cultivars to pick from, how do you choose what to grow? First, skip planting anything from the grocery store. Chances are, it’s been treated with a sprouting inhibitor, and you have no idea if it will grow well in your climate.
A better choice is to visit your local Farmers’ Market to explore the options and talk with the growers. Since it’s so easy to grow, you can experiment with several different types, even in a small growing space. If you decide to buy online, look for local growers to make sure the garlic will thrive in your climate.
So, should you grow garlic this fall? Definitely. With minimal effort, you’ll be rewarded the following summer with plump, fragrant bulbs—and maybe even some bonus scapes along the way.
Growing garlic is a delicious way to spice up your garden and your cooking. Once you harvest your own, you’ll never view imported grocery store garlic the same way.
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