How Deep Do You Plant Garlic?

Garlic cloves broken off this head must be planted at correct depth.

The individual cloves of a head of garlic are broken apart before planting. Each garlic clove should be planted to a depth of between 1 and 2 inches, with the pointed tip facing straight up.

Function

Each clove of garlic functions like a seed for that plant, with an individual tiny baby garlic plant and its food store wrapped up together in the skin. Roots grow down, out of the part of the clove closest to the base of the plant. Meanwhile, the plant shoots up toward the sunlight, directly from the pointed tip of each garlic clove.

Time Frame

Garlic cannot be planted at just any time of year. It should be planted in early winter for a spring harvest, as the cloves need to overwinter underground for best flavor development.

Considerations

Planting at the correct depth will be of little to no help if the soil is not well drained. Gardeners must choose an area where garlic cloves are unlikely to rot in the soil as they overwinter, since garlic is particularly susceptible to rot.

References

• University of Illinois Extension: Time to Plant Garlic
• Virginia Cooperative Extension: Onions, Garlic and Shallots