How to Save Garlic Bulbs for Replanting Next Year

Introduction

Garlic is one of the easiest and most rewarding crops to grow. With just a little planning, you can create a self-sustaining garlic cycle — saving bulbs from one harvest to replant the following year. This not only saves money but also allows you to select the healthiest bulbs from your crop, ensuring strong growth and bigger harvests year after year.

In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about saving garlic bulbs for replanting, from harvest and curing to selecting, storing, and planting your saved cloves.

Why Save Garlic Bulbs?

• Cost-effective: No need to buy seed garlic every year.
• Selective breeding: Over time, your garlic adapts to your soil and climate.
• Sustainability: Reduces reliance on suppliers and packaging.
• Bigger bulbs: By saving the best bulbs, you improve future yields.

Choosing the Right Garlic to Save

Not every bulb from your harvest is worth replanting. Careful selection ensures strong crops:

• Choose the largest, healthiest bulbs: Bigger bulbs produce bigger cloves, leading to stronger plants.
• Avoid diseased or damaged bulbs: Don’t replant garlic with signs of rot, mould, or pests.
• Select from your best-performing plants: Pick bulbs from plants with strong growth, upright leaves, and good bulb size.
• Avoid supermarket garlic: Always start with certified seed garlic initially, then save your own for future years.

When to Save Garlic Bulbs

• Save bulbs at harvest time (June–July for autumn garlic, July–August for spring garlic).
• Set aside the biggest, healthiest bulbs before using the rest in the kitchen.
• Store these bulbs separately from your eating garlic so you don’t use them by mistake.

How to Cure Garlic for Replanting

Curing is essential for both storage and replanting:

1. Gently brush off excess soil (don’t wash).
2. Leave leaves and roots intact.
3. Hang in bunches or lay on racks in a warm, dry, airy place.
4. Cure for 2–3 weeks until outer skins are papery.

Once cured, trim roots and stems (unless you want to braid softneck varieties).

How to Store Garlic for Replanting

• Store bulbs in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place (e.g., shed, garage, or pantry).
• Avoid plastic bags — they trap moisture. Use mesh bags or baskets instead.
• Keep bulbs away from direct sunlight.
• Ideal temperature: 0–10°C.
• Do not refrigerate long-term, as this may encourage premature sprouting.

Preparing Garlic for Replanting Next Year

Step 1: Break Bulbs into Cloves

• Do this just before planting (not months in advance).
• Select the largest outer cloves from your saved bulbs.
• Discard tiny cloves — they often produce small bulbs.

Step 2: Plant at the Right Time

• Autumn planting (September–November): Best for large bulbs.
• Spring planting (February–March): Good alternative in heavy soils prone to winter waterlogging.

Step 3: Planting Method

• Plant cloves pointy end up, flat base down.
• Depth: 2–3cm in autumn, 5–6cm in spring.
• Spacing: 10–15cm between cloves, 25–30cm between rows.

Rotating Your Garlic for Healthy Replanting

Replanting garlic in the same soil year after year encourages disease build-up. To prevent problems:

• Rotate garlic and other alliums (onions, leeks) every 3–4 years.
• Avoid replanting in soil affected by white rot or other fungal diseases.
• Grow garlic in containers or raised beds if rotation is limited.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Saving Garlic

• Saving small bulbs → produces smaller harvests next year.
• Planting diseased bulbs → spreads problems like white rot.
• Breaking bulbs too early → cloves may dry out or lose viability.
• Storing in plastic → leads to mould and rot.
• Forgetting rotation → increases risk of soil-borne diseases.

Elephant Garlic: Saving Bulbs for Replanting

Elephant garlic can also be saved, but it behaves slightly differently:

• Sometimes produces single “rounds” (one-clove bulbs). These need another season to split into cloves.
• Save both large cloves and rounds for replanting.
• Store and cure as you would with standard garlic.

Garlic Replanting Cycle: Year by Year

• Year 1: Buy certified seed garlic and plant.
• Year 2: Harvest, save largest bulbs, replant in autumn.
• Year 3 onwards: Continue selecting and replanting the best bulbs for improved harvests each year.

Over time, your garlic will become well adapted to your soil and climate — often outperforming bought seed garlic.

Conclusion

Saving garlic bulbs for replanting is a simple and rewarding way to create a self-sustaining garlic cycle in your garden. By selecting the biggest, healthiest bulbs, curing and storing them properly, and replanting at the right time, you’ll enjoy larger and stronger harvests each year.

This method not only saves money but also helps you grow garlic uniquely suited to your garden. Once you start saving your own bulbs, you may never need to buy seed garlic again.

Top 10 Questions About Saving Garlic Bulbs

1. Can I replant garlic I harvested this year?
Yes, just save the largest, healthiest bulbs and store them until planting time.

2. Should I use the biggest or smallest bulbs for replanting?
Always use the biggest bulbs — they produce the strongest plants.

3. How do I store garlic for replanting?
Cure bulbs for 2–3 weeks, then store in a cool, dry, airy place until autumn.

4. Can I use supermarket garlic for replanting?
Not recommended — it may carry diseases and is often treated to stop sprouting.

5. When should I break bulbs into cloves for planting?
Just before planting, not earlier.

6. Can garlic be replanted every year?
Yes, but rotate crops every 3–4 years to avoid soil disease.

7. What happens if I plant small cloves?
They’ll usually grow into small bulbs, not large ones.

8. How long does saved garlic last before planting?
If stored properly, bulbs saved at summer harvest will last until autumn planting.

9. Can I replant garlic rounds from elephant garlic?
Yes, but they may need an extra season to form full bulbs.

10. How do I stop disease when replanting garlic?
Rotate crops, only use healthy bulbs, and avoid planting in contaminated soil.