Vegetables · perennial grown as an annual

Garlic from seed

Allium sativum · also searched as growing garlic from seed

Minimum soil temperature: 32°F (0°C)
Sowing depth: about 2 in (5 cm), cloves pointed end up
Light: Cover the seed; darkness helps
Before sowing: Garlic is planted as cloves, not seed. Cold over winter is what triggers bulb formation.
Spacing: 4 to 6 in (10 to 15 cm)

Garlic is grown from cloves. The UC table lists a minimum soil temperature of 32°F for garlic seed.

Sowing

Plant individual cloves in autumn, a few weeks before the ground freezes, pointed end up, then mulch. True seed is rare and only some hardnecks make it (bulbils are the usual alternative).

Care and transplanting

Mulch over winter, feed lightly in spring and stop watering as leaves yellow in summer.

Problems

Yellowing tips in early summer are normal near harvest. Rot is wet soil; plant in a raised bed if drainage is poor.

Saving seed

Save your biggest bulbs for planting. Never plant supermarket garlic if you can help it; it may be treated or unsuited.