Growing Garlic in North Dakota: A Fall Tradition for a Flavorful Harvest

Garlic may be small, but it’s one of the most rewarding crops you can grow in North Dakota. Our cold winters and short summers might seem intimidating to new gardeners, but in truth, they’re just what garlic loves. With a little planning and a blanket of mulch, you can enjoy a hearty summer harvest of bulbs that rival anything from the store, fresh, flavorful, and grown right in North Dakota soil.

Garlic is a cool-season crop that needs the cold. When planted in the fall, the cloves establish roots before winter, then rest under the snow until spring warmth coaxes them to grow again. This cycle helps harden the bulbs and intensify flavor. North Dakota’s climate with its long freeze and bright summer days creates ideal conditions for growing hardy, delicious garlic.

Choosing the Right Variety

Make sure to choose the right variety! Not all garlic is created equal, especially in northern regions. The best options for North Dakota gardeners are hardneck varieties, which tolerate cold weather and produce large, easy to peel cloves. Some dependable choices include:

• Music

• German Extra Hardy

• Chesnok Red

  
  

Hardneck garlic also produces scapes, the curly flowers that appear in early summer. These can be snipped or snapped off and used in stir-frys, pestos or salads. Softneck garlic can be grown in North Dakota, but it prefers warmer, milder winters and may not over winter as consistently. An absolute must is purchasing your garlic seed from a northern grower so it’s already adapted to the region’s cold.

Planting Garlic

Timing is key! Garlic should be planted two to three weeks before the ground freezes solid, however I have planted as late as mid-November so watch the forecast carefully!

How to plant your garlic

1. Prepare the soil. Garlic prefers loose, well drained soil enriched with compost or aged manure. Avoid soggy spots the can rot bulbs.

2. Break apart the bulbs into individual cloves, leaving the papery skin intact. This is my kids’ favorite part of planting, we have a, “cracking garlic” party.

3. Plant each clove about 2 inches deep and 4-6 inches apart, with the pointed end facing up.

4. Space rows roughly 12 inches apart.

5. Cover the bed with 3-6 inches of clean straw, leaves or untreated grass clippings to insulate the cloves and prevent heaving during freeze-thaw cycles.

Springtime!

As snow melts and green shoots emerge in spring, remove the mulch to allow sunlight in, but keep enough to suppress weeds or re-lay new mulch. Garlic likes even moisture but not standing water so water during dry spells if spring rains are scarce.

When scapes begin curling in the summer snip them off to encourage the plant to put its energy into bulbs growth. Wait until the scape is fully curled before snapping!

Harvesting and Curing

Roughly two weeks after you take scapes off watch your garlic for the bottom three leaves on the garlic plant to dry completely. Don’t wait too long, the bulbs will split! Use a garden fork to gently loosen the soil and lift bulbs rather than pulling them by hand, which can damage the stalks. Shake off the dirt but don’t wash the bulbs. Instead, hang them in bundles or lay them on screens in a shaded, airy space for about three to four weeks to cure. Once the outer skins are papery, trim the roots and tops.

Properly cured garlic will store for months in a cool, dry place. Many North Dakota growers keep theirs through winter, using it for cooking, planting, or sharing with neighbors!

Save the Best for Next Year

The most experienced garlic growers have one simple rule: always save your biggest, healthiest bulbs for planting next fall. Over time, your garlic becomes locally adapted, hardier, tastier, and perfectly suited to your soil and microclimate. This keeps the garlic tradition going year after year!

Planting garlic in the fall is a hopeful act. As the air turns crisp and fields quiet down, tucking cloves into the soil is like a promise to yourself that spring will come again. By next summer, when you pull up those full fragrant bulbs, you’ll be reminded of how a little work and patience can bring something truly rewarding to your table.