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this post was submitted on 01 Oct 2026
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Gardening
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I haven't grown garlic myself but you're probably fine, it's meant to do all the work itself. Don't cover it, it wants the cold weather to grow nice and fat, and don't water it too much - it'll want some if there are long periods without rain, but rots easily if it gets too wet.
Yeah, I've heard they're pretty "hardy" crops to take care of so I'm guessing they become "dormant" in winter on "sleep/energy saving mode" correct me if I'm wrong lol.
But what about if the autumn/winter months have constant rain, I'm worried the crop might drown if it's watered too much, would I then need to cover it or keep it uncovered, just mulch it?
Garlic is a bulb that spreads by generating bulbets (cloves).
What would happen if you planted a clove of garlic and then just left it there for 3-4 years?
It would slowly spread outwards over time with a mass of plants all clustered together. Just like daffodils etc.
It will grow based upon the environmental conditions. It's literally one of the easiest crops to grow because of it. You can plant it in July and if it's hot it will remain dormant for a month until cooler temps.
@The_v @Dis32
I have grown garlic 30+ yrs. I used to let some go to seed and harvest it 4 years later when it was mature, but you have to take the seed head off to avoid a field of nothing but garlic.
Yeah I probably wasn't clear enough there - it grows perfectly fine in British weather, so don't water it unless there's a drought, the rain will do the job fine. Unless you have some kind of particularly bad soil, it should be as simple as planting bulbs and leaving them there until harvest.
I asked my dad about mulching and he said "I dunno, I always just stuck 'em in the ground", so I'm gonna say probably not necessary - when he grew it on the allotment we never lacked for garlic.
No, no, you're crystal clear tbh, I was just making sure I understood what you said so no worries there.
No problems with soil on our part so everything should be fine and dandy. Now I need to save some leaves and grass cuttings asap heh. I forgot to mention I bought the bulbs at a local garden centre so I know it's locally grown and I don't have to worry about it if it was grown in another country or if it's sprayed with pesticide of whatnot.