Use this guide from late September to November, when garlic and autumn onion sets go in. Buy garlic bulbs and autumn onion sets from a garden centre or seed supplier, and have a sunny, well-drained bed or deep container ready.
Step by step
Choose the right stock
Buy garlic sold for planting rather than supermarket bulbs, which may carry disease or be unsuited to the UK climate. Choose onion sets labelled as autumn-planting or overwintering varieties. Store them somewhere cool and dry until planting.
Prepare the bed
Pick a sunny spot that did not grow onions or garlic last year, to reduce disease. Clear weeds and fork in garden compost. On heavy clay, plant on a raised bed or a ridge of soil so the bulbs do not sit in water.
Split and plant the garlic
Break the bulb into individual cloves just before planting, keeping the papery skin on. Push each clove in pointed end up so the tip is about 2–3 cm below the surface, around 15 cm apart in rows about 30 cm apart. Plant only the larger cloves.
Plant the onion sets
Push onion sets gently into the soil so just the tip shows, about 10 cm apart in rows. Firm the soil around them. Cover with fleece or netting for a few weeks, as birds often pull them out.
Look after them over winter
Keep the bed weed-free, as garlic and onions do not compete well. They rarely need watering in winter, but water in dry spells in spring. Check after frosts and replant any bulbs that have lifted.
Harvest next summer
Garlic and overwintering onions are usually ready in early to mid summer, when the leaves start to turn yellow. Lift them gently with a fork on a dry day and leave them to dry in the sun or a well-aired shed before storing.
Ready-to-use checklist
- Garlic bought for planting
- Autumn onion sets
- Sunny, well-drained bed or deep pot
- Garden compost
- Fleece or netting against birds
- Labels for varieties and planting date
- Hand fork or hoe for weeding
Practical tips
- Garlic grows well in containers at least 20 cm deep filled with multi-purpose compost mixed with some grit.
- Label each row with the variety and date so you know what to expect at harvest.
- If orange spots of rust appear on leaves, remove the worst leaves and avoid growing onions or garlic in that spot for a few years.
Common problems
Birds keep pulling up the onion sets.
Trim the dry wispy tops off the sets before planting, as birds tug on them, then replant any pulled-up sets and cover the row with fleece or netting until roots have formed.
The garlic bulbs are small at harvest.
Small bulbs usually come from planting too late, small cloves, poor drainage or competition from weeds. Plant earlier next year, use the biggest cloves and keep the bed weeded.
Cloves have rotted in the ground over winter.
The soil was too wet. Next time plant on a raised bed or ridge, add grit to heavy soil, or start cloves in modules in a cold frame and plant out in late winter.
This guide gives general information, not personal legal, financial or medical advice. Rules and prices change, so check the current position with the official service before acting.
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