Jere Folgert
- Aug 7
- 4 min read

How Much Garlic do I need for Planting?

Updated: Aug 8

How Many Garlic Bulbs Do You Need? A Planting Guide

Successful garlic cultivation hinges on precise planning. Determining the optimal number of garlic bulbs for your garden requires a systematic approach. Key factors influencing this calculation include garlic variety, desired harvest yield, available garden space, and planting density. By understanding these variables, gardeners can maximize their garlic production.

Factors to Consider:

Garlic Variety: Different garlic varieties have varying numbers of cloves per bulb.
Desired Harvest: How much garlic do you plan to consume, and do you plan to plant again?
Garden Space: How much area do you have for your garlic patch?
Planting Distance: Garlic cloves typically need space to grow.

Garlic Varieties and Their Cloves:

Rocambole and Purple Stripe: Think of these as the "mega cloves" with about 10 cloves each.
Porcelain: Typically large, plump cloves with around 6 cloves per bulb.
Marbled Purple Stripe & Asiatic: These are somewhere between the two, with about 7 cloves per bulb.

Calculating the Number of Bulbs:

Let's say you want to plant a row of garlic that's 10 feet long. You decide to space the cloves 5 inches apart.

Determine the number of cloves per foot:

There are 12 inches in a foot.
If you space cloves 5 inches apart, you can fit 12 ÷ 5 = 2.4 cloves per foot.

Calculate the total number of cloves:

You have a 10-foot row.
So, you need 2.4 cloves/foot * 10 feet = 24 cloves.

Determine the number of bulbs:

If you're planting Rocambole or Purple Stripe (10 cloves/bulb), you'll need 24 cloves ÷ 10 cloves/bulb = 2.4 bulbs. Since you can't buy 0.4 of a bulb, you'll need 3 bulbs.
If you're planting Porcelain (6 cloves/bulb), you'll need 24 cloves ÷ 6 cloves/bulb = 4 bulbs.
For Marbled Purple Stripe or Asiatic (7 cloves/bulb), you'll need 24 cloves ÷ 7 cloves/bulb = 3.4 bulbs, so you'd buy 4 bulbs.

Another Example. Figuring Out How Many Garlic Bulbs to Buy

Understanding the Problem

We want to plant 100 garlic plants, with each plant spaced 6 inches apart. We need to determine how many garlic bulbs to purchase based on the number of cloves per bulb for different varieties.

Calculations

1. Determine Row Length:

If we plant 100 garlic cloves 6 inches apart, the total length of the row will be:
- 100 cloves * 6 inches/clove = 600 inches = 50 feet

2. Choose a Garlic Variety: Let's choose Porcelain garlic, which has about 6 cloves per bulb.

3. Calculate Number of Bulbs:

We need 100 cloves.
Each bulb has 6 cloves.
So, we need 100 cloves / 6 cloves/bulb = 16.67 bulbs.

Therefore, you would need to buy 17 Porcelain garlic bulbs to plant 100 garlic plants.

Considerations

Cloves per Bulb: The actual number of cloves per bulb can vary, so this is an estimate.
Plant Spacing: While 6 inches is a common spacing, you can adjust this based on your desired plant density.
Garlic Variety: Different varieties have different characteristics, including clove count, size, and flavor.
Seed Garlic: It's essential to use seed garlic specifically intended for planting, rather than grocery store garlic.

For other garlic varieties:

Rocambole or Purple Stripe: With 10 cloves per bulb, you would need about 10 bulbs.
Marbled Purple Stripe or Asiatic: With about 7 cloves per bulb, you would need about 14 bulbs.

By adjusting the number of cloves per bulb in the calculation, you can determine the required number of bulbs for any garlic variety.

Clove Variability and Optimization

It is imperative to note that clove count per bulb can exhibit significant intra-specific variation. While Porcelain varieties often demonstrate larger individual cloves, this observation does not consistently correlate with overall clove number. To ensure optimal planting density and maximize yield, acquiring a surplus of bulbs is recommended. Smaller cloves, while suitable for culinary applications, may demonstrate reduced vigor during cultivation. Prioritizing larger cloves for planting is advisable due to their increased potential energy reserves, which can contribute to robust plant establishment and development. Remember: These are just estimates. The actual number of cloves per bulb can vary. It's always a good idea to have a few extra cloves on hand.

Planning for Your Garlic Needs:

Consider your garlic consumption: If you eat a lot of garlic, sell garlic, or even give garlic away to friends, you might want to plant more.
Save cloves for next year: Garlic can be propagated from cloves. Save some of your harvest to plant the following year.
Experiment with varieties: Try different types of garlic to find your favorites.

Growing Your Own Garlic.

Planting garlic is like orchestrating a concert with the top singer-performers taking center stage. Our concert includes garlic cloves that resemble Taylor Swift, Morgan Wallen, Zach Bryan, Stray Kids, Luke Combs, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, Chappell Roan, Post Malone, Jelly Roll, Eminem, and SZA. Close your eyes. Each of the singers is a garlic clove. Each clove is a potential star, waiting to burst into a robust bulb that sings with flavor. Just like a well-rehearsed performance, preparation is key. The soil becomes the stage, rich and well-drained, ready to support these future stars. As you gently tuck each clove into the earth, it's like placing a microphone in front of a talented vocalist, ensuring they have the perfect environment to thrive.

Throughout the growing season, garlic shoots emerge like eager soloists, reaching for the spotlight of the sun. They grow steadily, each leaf a note in a melodious symphony of green. By summer's end, the bulbs swell, promising a harvest that rivals the applause of a captivated audience. And when it's time to harvest, it's like gathering the applause of an enthusiastic crowd, each bulb a standing ovation to your gardening prowess. Planting garlic isn't just about growing food; it's about nurturing your own culinary stars and creating a performance in your garden that leaves everyone wanting an encore.