Garlic Planting Calculator
Garlic cloves, seed heads, and harvest weight from row length.
What it does
Garlic multiplies from cloves. Each planted clove grows one head, so row length and spacing set both the seed order and the summer harvest.
The tool above divides row by spacing. Twenty feet at 6 in needs 40 cloves from 8 heads, for about 6 lb harvested. The metric match is 6.1 m at 15 cm for 41 cloves and 2.9 kg.
Spacing balances size and count. Six inches grows full heads with airflow, tighter rows grow small bulbs, and wider rows waste bed space.
Seed heads average five plantable cloves. Small inner cloves cook better than they grow, so plant the fat outer ones and eat the rest.
Fall planting suits cold zones. Roots set before freeze, shoots sprint in spring, and mulch after freeze guards heaving.
How to use
- Pick imperial (ft, in) or metric (m, cm).
- Enter row length.
- Enter spacing: 6 in or 15 cm suits most beds.
- Read cloves first.
- Read seed heads next.
- Read harvest and order seed early.
Formula
- row
- Bed row length.
- spacing
- Clove to clove gap.
Metric uses cm with 0.07 kg per harvested head. Five cloves per seed head suits average bulbs.
Worked example
Example: 20 ft row, 6 in spacing
Imperial defaults: 20 ft row at 6 in spacing. These are also the default values, so the page opens on this answer.
- Row: 20 ft at 6 in spacing.
- Inches: 20 x 12 = 240 in.
- Cloves: 240 / 6 = 40 cloves.
- Heads: ceil(40 / 5) = 8 heads to plant.
- Harvest: 40 x 0.15 = 6 lb.
- Tool shows 40 cloves, 8 heads to plant, 6 lb harvest.
Reference table
| Row | Spacing | Cloves |
|---|---|---|
| 10 ft | 6 in | 20 cloves |
| 20 ft | 6 in | 40 cloves |
| 30 ft | 6 in | 60 cloves |
| 6.1 m | 15 cm | 41 cloves |
Limits
- Estimate only. Seed size shifts cloves per head.
- Weather and soil move harvest weight.
- Rows a foot apart assumed for bed math.
- Storage needs curing past harvest.
Common mistakes
- Planting tiny inner cloves.
- Spring planting hardneck in cold zones.
- No mulch, then frost heave.
- Harvesting late so wrappers split.
- Curing in sun until cooked.
Try it yourself
Quick checks. Answers sit tucked under each question.
10 ft at 6 in?
10 x 12 / 6 = 20 cloves. Heads are ceil(20 / 5) = 4. Harvest is 20 x 0.15 = 3 lb.
3 m at 15 cm metric?
3 x 100 / 15 = 20 cloves. Heads are ceil(20 / 5) = 4. Harvest is 20 x 0.07 = 1.4 kg.
Questions
Cloves for 20 ft?
Divide row inches by spacing. Here 20 x 12 / 6 = 40 cloves from 8 heads.
Seed heads to buy?
Divide cloves by 5 and round up. Here ceil(40 / 5) = 8 heads.
Spacing and depth?
Near 6 in apart in rows a foot apart, pointy end up, 2 in deep. Cold zones mulch after freeze.
Harvest per clove?
Near 0.15 lb per harvested head in this plan. Big seed and kind weather beat the line, drought trails it.
Fall or spring?
Fall for hardneck in cold zones, spring where winters run warm. Soil ready and drained beats calendar dates.
Does this stop disease?
No. Rot, rust, and pests need garden diagnosis.