05/27/2026
This time of year, we're often asked when to harvest garlic.
The short answer - to the surprise of no horticulturist anywhere - is it depends!
Factors affecting the ideal harvest time are the growing season of this particular crop (hot, cold, wet, dry, etc), when exactly the garlic was planted, if it was fed and watered adequately, and perhaps most importantly ... the type of garlic.
Different types of garlic mature at different times, so it's helpful to label and track what varieties you plant.
For us, the artichoke types are always first, followed quickly by most of our purple stripes. Then it's the porcelains and the elephant garlic, and lastly the silverskins.
What's cool is that, if you know what to look for, the plants will tell you when it's dig time. As the plants mature, their leaves will begin to yellow and turn brown starting at the base of the stem and moving upwards.
The harvesting sweet spot is to get them out of the ground when between 3-5 leaves have turned. We've labeled the brown leaves in this photo so you can see what we mean.
Have any questions? Let us know and leave a comment!
✌️💚🧄
