How to Plant Garlic in Washington State

How you plant and grow garlic in Washington state depends on whether you live east of west of the Cascade Mountains. The western part of the state has a climate with mild winters and cloudy, rainy weather from autumn until spring. Eastern Washington has a dry climate with cold winters and warm to hot summers. Washington has a good climate for growing garlic and is fourth largest garlic-producing state in the United States.

Most garlic types grown commercially in Washington are softneck varieties, also called silverskin garlic. You can grow these at home as well. White softneck bulbs are sometimes tinged with purple. Some softneck cultivars grow numerous, small cloves, while others yield fewer, slightly larger cloves. You can braid the soft stalks of softneck garlics for storage. Grocery stores most often sell softneck garlic.

Garlic will grow in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 8.

Softneck varieties suitable for Washington include California Early (Allium sativum "California Early") and "California Late" (Allium sativum "California Late").

Home gardeners may prefer hardneck garlics that yield fewer, but larger cloves. They are prized for their flavor and are easy to peel, but don’t store well. Hardneck garlic cultivars grow coiled flower stalks called scapes by mid- to late spring. These straighten out as the plant matures.

Horticulturalists at Washington State University recommend three hardneck cultivars, "Music" (Allium Sativum var Orphioscorodon "Music"), Asian Tempest (Allium sativum "Asian Tempest") or Chet’s Italian Red (Allium sativum var. Sativum "Chet’s Italian Red").

Elephant Garlic (Allium ampeloprasum), a variety wild leek, not a true garlic, grows bulbs with three to five large, mild cloves with a garlic-like flavor and aroma. It will grow in USDA zones 5 through 9. (See Reference 4)

Eastern Washington has harsh winters caused by cold fronts coming out of Canada and the weather takes longer to warm in spring. Plant softneck and hardneck garlic at least four to six weeks before the first expected freeze in autumn, usually from the middle of September through the middle of October. You can also plant cloves in early spring, but you will have a lower yield and smaller cloves.

Moist weather blowing off the Pacific Ocean brings mild winters to Western Washington. Plant garlic in November or in March. The drawback to planting in March is that it takes about nine months for the roots to develop and form bulbs. Planting in spring increases the chances of growing what are called garlic rounds, bulbs without divided cloves. Many Western Washington gardeners plant garlic in the spring and harvest their scapes for greens.

Store bulbs for planting at 40 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Break garlic bulbs into separate cloves a few days before planting.

Garlic likes sun and a soil pH between 6.5 and 7. Spread 1 pound of granular, water-soluble 10-10-10 fertilizer on top of 100 square feet of area and water it in before you plant garlic.

Plant cloves with the root side down and the pointed side up 2 to 3 inches deep from 3 to 5 inches apart in rows 18 to 30 inches from one another. Moisten the soil.

If you live in Eastern Washington, where temperatures may drop below 0 F in winter, cover the garlic with several inches of mulch to help keep them warm.

If you plant garlic in Eastern Washington, you may have to water once before winter. If you dig down and the soil is dry below 3 to 4 inches, it needs water. Some authorities suggest irrigating the soil until it is moist from 12 to 18 inches deep. In Western Washington, which gets plenty of autumn and winter rain, you may not have to irrigate garlic again until May. Stop irrigating after the summer solstice in the third week of June, as bulbs stop growing when the days get shorter, advises the Everett Herald.

When the soil temperature is 50 to 55 F in early spring, add 1 cup of manure, compost tea or bloodmeal as a sidedressing to each 50 feet of row. To side dress, sprinkle the fertilizer 6 inches from the sides of the garlic plants and water well. These are organic sources of nitrogen. If you add nitrogen fertilizer in late spring, the maturity of the bulbs will be delayed.

Scrape away some of the topsoil to determine when garlic bulbs are large enough to harvest. Garlic will typically be ready to harvest in July.