How far apart to plant garlic
Utah State University Extension and Johnny's Selected Seeds both set garlic cloves 3 to 4 inches apart in the row, with rows 6 to 10 inches apart. In a raised bed where you plant in every direction, about 6 inches each way is a comfortable middle, and the square foot method fits 9 cloves per square foot, as University of Wisconsin Extension's square foot guide lists it.
Each clove you plant grows into one whole bulb, so the spacing you choose is also your harvest count.
How many garlic cloves fit a raised bed
| Bed | 6 in each way | 4 in × 8 in rows | Square foot method (9 per sq ft) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 × 4 ft | 64 | 72 | 144 |
| 4 × 8 ft | 128 | 144 | 288 |
| 3 × 6 ft | 72 | 72 | 162 |
| 4 × 12 ft | 192 | 216 | 432 |
The first two columns keep half a spacing clear along the bed edges, the way the calculator counts. The square foot count packs every square to the edge, so it is the most you could squeeze in. Tighter spacing gives more bulbs, each a little smaller; the wider spacings suit large hardneck heads.
A single 25 ft row at 4 inches takes 75 cloves.
Hardneck or softneck?
Both are spaced the same in the sources above, but they grow differently:
- Hardneck garlic sends up a stiff flower stalk, the scape. Johnny's advises cutting it once it curls, so the plant puts its energy into the bulb. Heads have 5 to 8 large cloves around the stalk and store for a shorter time. Hardnecks need winter cold.
- Softneck garlic has no stalk, braids well and stores longest. Heads have 7 to 8 outer cloves plus layers of small inner ones.
To work out how many heads of seed garlic to buy, divide the cloves the calculator gives by the cloves per head of your variety, and plant only the biggest ones.
How deep and when to plant garlic
Set each clove 2 to 3 inches deep, pointed end up. Garlic goes in during fall, not spring: Utah State plants from about the first fall frost until as late as November. The cloves root over winter and the tops take off in spring. Spring planting gives small bulbs.
Using the calculator
The calculator above starts on garlic's own spacing. Choose a bed, a single row, or an area in square feet or acres. Square spaces cloves evenly both ways, Triangular (staggered) offsets every second row to fit about 15% more on large areas, and Rows uses separate in-row and between-row spacing. Switch to centimetres with the unit toggle; 3 to 4 inches is about 8 to 10 cm.
For the soil to fill the bed, use the raised bed soil calculator. To mix garlic with other crops in the same bed, lay it out in the raised bed planner or the square foot gardening calculator.