Plant Database / Vegetables / Garlic
Vegetables

Garlic

Allium sativum
Amaryllidaceae (Amaryllis)

Plant cloves in fall, harvest in early summer. Softneck types store longest and suit the South.

EdibleCool-seasonStores wellMedicinal
Garlic (Allium sativum) illustration — Texas Roots plant database, by Jordan Polasek
Sun
Full sun
Water
Moderate, then dry to cure
Soil
Loose, fertile
pH
6.0–7.5
Hardiness
Plant fall, harvest early summer
Height
12–24 in
Spacing
6 in
Days to harvest
240 (overwinter)

What it is

Garlic (Allium sativum) is in the Amaryllidaceae (Amaryllis) family. Plant cloves in fall, harvest in early summer. Softneck types store longest and suit the South.

How to grow it

It wants full sun, water it moderate, then dry to cure, and give it loose, fertile soil. Target a soil pH around 6.0–7.5. Space plants about 6 in apart. Expect roughly 240 (overwinter). Plant fall, harvest early summer.

How it's used

Garlic is used: cooked, raw, stored.

🔎 How to identify it

  • Flat strappy leaves
  • Bulb of cloves underground
  • Scapes on hardneck types

Edibility

PartsBulb and green scapes
UsesCooked, raw, stored
CautionNone.
🌤 Before you plant: check the live 7-day garden weather to time it right for frost and heat.

Part of the free Texas Roots plant database, compiled by Jordan Polasek from his greenhouse in El Campo, Texas. Free to read and share. If it helped, the best thanks is to grow something.