Harvest guide
When to Harvest Garlic (Signs It's Ready)
Fall-planted garlic is ready in early-to-mid summer, when the lower 3-4 leaves have browned but 5-6 upper leaves stay green. Here are the signs, the lift, and how to cure it.
Days to maturity
240–270days
Ready when
Lower 3-4 leaves brown, upper still green (planted fall)
Plant fall, harvest early-mid summer
The short answer
Fall-planted garlic is ready in early-to-mid summer, about 8 to 9 months after planting, when the lower 3 to 4 leaves have browned but 5 to 6 upper leaves are still green. Each green leaf is one papery wrapper layer on the bulb, so don't wait until all the leaves brown. Stop watering 1 to 2 weeks before lifting.
Garlic is the one crop where the calendar lies to you. A fall-planted bed sits in the ground all winter and spring, then ripens fast in early summer. The plant tells you when it is ready. You just have to read the leaves.
Read the leaves, not the calendar
Every leaf on a garlic plant connects to one papery wrapper around the bulb. Cornell Cooperative Extension puts it plainly: each green leaf represents a layer of the papery wrapper that rots as the leaf above it dies.
So the leaves are a countdown. As they brown from the bottom up, wrapper layers are being used up. Harvest while you still have 5 to 6 green leaves and the bulb keeps that many intact wrappers, which is what lets it store for months.
The window is real but short. The University of Maine notes that once the lower three leaves brown, you have about two weeks before the outer wrapper starts to disintegrate.
| Type | When it's ready | Leaf signal at harvest | Scape? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardneck (fall-planted) | Early-to-mid summer, ~8-9 months after planting | Lower 3-4 leaves brown, 5-6 upper leaves green | Yes. Cut the curly scape in late spring/early summer |
| Softneck (fall-planted) | Early-to-mid summer, often a touch later | Lower 3-4 leaves brown, half or more upper leaves green | No scape |
University of Minnesota Extension dates the harvest to between late June and late July, depending on variety and climate. In much of the US that means right now, in early June, the bed is close. Check it every few days.
How to tell it's ready
Walk the bed and run this quick check before you commit to lifting the whole patch.
- The lower 3 to 4 leaves have turned brown and dried.
- About 5 to 6 upper leaves are still green. The University of Minnesota says harvest when half or slightly more than half of the upper leaves remain green.
- You did a test dig. Pull one bulb, cut it in half, and confirm the cloves fill their skins.
That test dig is the honest answer. If the cloves are plump and tight against the wrapper, the patch is ready. If they look small or loose, give it a few more days and check again.
How to harvest garlic
Garlic bulbs bruise easily, and a bruised bulb rots in storage. Treat the lift like handling eggs.
- Loosen the soil first. Slide a digging fork in a few inches away from the row and gently lever the soil up. Do not stab toward the bulb.
- Lift by the bulb, not the stem. Ease each plant out with the loosened soil. Pulling on the dry stem can snap it off and leave the bulb behind.
- Knock off loose soil by hand. Do not bang the bulbs together or scrub them. Leave the roots and tops on for now.
- Keep them out of the sun. Move the lifted plants straight to a shaded, airy spot.
Stop watering 1 to 2 weeks before you lift. Both the University of Minnesota and Colorado State advise cutting off water about two weeks ahead, which firms the bulbs and keeps the wrappers clean and dry for storage.
Cure it before you store it
Curing is just slow drying. It seals the wrappers and dries the neck so the bulb can keep for months instead of weeks. Skip it and the garlic sprouts or molds.
Cure for 3 to 4 weeks in a warm, dry, airy, shaded place. Hang the whole plants in loose bundles of 5 to 10, or lay them in a single layer on a screen with a fan moving air across them. The University of Maine warns against a very hot spot like an attic or closed greenhouse, and never in direct sun.
It is cured when the necks are dry and the outer skins are papery. Now trim the tops to about 1 to 1.5 inches above the bulb and cut the roots back close to the base.
Store the trimmed bulbs cool and dry. The University of Maine recommends around 60°F at about 50 percent humidity, and Colorado State gives a workable 40 to 60°F range. Never refrigerate garlic or seal it in a plastic bag, which traps moisture and invites rot.
Set aside your biggest, healthiest bulbs to replant this fall. Big cloves grow big bulbs, so the harvest is also your seed stock.
Common mistake
Waiting until every leaf browns. By then the wrapper layers have rotted off and the cloves split apart, so the bulbs look ragged and store badly. Two more mistakes: washing the bulbs, which drives water into the wrappers, and curing in the sun, which scalds them. Dry brushing, shade, and airflow are all garlic needs.
Pro tip
On hardneck garlic, cut the curly flower stalk, the scape, once it curls in late spring or early summer. It steals energy from the bulb. University of Maine research found that leaving the scape on can shrink the final bulb by as much as 48 percent. Bonus: scapes are a mild garlic vegetable, good chopped into a stir-fry or pesto.
A note on next year's bed
Garlic likes elbow room. Crowded plants make small bulbs, which is the same lesson as harvesting too early. The standard spacing is about 6 inches apart in the row, the same density you would give onions plus an inch. See the plant spacing chart for how that compares across crops.
When you plant this fall, run your row length and bed size through the Plant Spacing Calculator to see exactly how many cloves fit. Then come back here next June to read the leaves. If onions share your beds, the when to harvest onions guide reads the same kind of signal, just with floppy tops instead of browning leaves.
How many plants fit your bed
When you replant, size the bed first. Run your dimensions through the calculator to see how many plants fit in square, triangular, and square-foot layouts.
Try it — Plant Spacing Calculator
Full calculatorExtra to cover losses (10% is typical).
You can plant
32plants
- Per row
- 8
- Rows
- 4
- Buy (incl. spare)
- 36 plants
Common questions
When is garlic ready to harvest?
Fall-planted garlic is ready in early-to-mid summer, about 8 to 9 months after planting. Watch the leaves, not the calendar. Harvest when the lower 3 to 4 leaves have turned brown but 5 to 6 upper leaves are still green. University of Minnesota Extension puts the window between late June and late July, depending on variety and climate.
What happens if I wait too long to harvest garlic?
The bulb wrappers break down and the cloves start to split apart. Once the lower three leaves brown, the University of Maine gives you about two weeks before the outer wrapper begins to disintegrate. Split, wrapper-bare bulbs do not store well, so it is better to lift a little early than too late.
Should I cut garlic scapes off?
Yes, on hardneck garlic. The curly flower stalk, called a scape, pulls energy away from the bulb. University of Maine research found that leaving the scape on can shrink the harvested bulb by as much as 48 percent. Snip scapes once they curl, and you can cook with them.
How long does garlic need to cure?
Cure garlic for 3 to 4 weeks in a warm, dry, airy spot out of direct sun. Hang it in bundles or lay it on a screen with good air movement. It is done when the necks are dry and the outer skins are papery. Only then trim the tops and roots and move it to storage.
Can I harvest garlic too early?
You can. Lift it before the lower leaves brown and the bulbs are small and the wrappers are thin, so they store poorly. The fix is a test dig. Pull one bulb when the lower 3 to 4 leaves brown, cut it in half, and harvest the patch only once the cloves fill their skins.
Sources
Agronomic claims in this guide are checked against these primary sources.
- Growing garlic in home gardens — University of Minnesota Extension
- Bulletin #2063, Growing Garlic in Maine — University of Maine Cooperative Extension
- Garlic — Cornell Cooperative Extension
- Harvesting Garlic — Colorado State University PlantTalk
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