How to Store Seed Garlic Before Planting: When & How to Refrigerate Garlic

Your seed garlic has arrived…now what? 🧄

Whether you're planting next week or still have a few months to wait, how you store your seed garlic before planting can make a difference in the season ahead.

The good news is that storing seed garlic is simple. The most important thing to remember is that not everyone needs to refrigerate their garlic before planting. Your local winter conditions and planting time will determine whether your garlic needs a little extra help getting the cold period it needs.

Here's how to keep your seed garlic happy from the day it arrives until the day it goes into the ground.

When Your Seed Garlic Arrives

First things first: keep your garlic bulbs whole.

Resist the temptation to separate all those beautiful cloves when you open your package. Keeping the bulb intact helps protect the individual cloves during storage. Research has also shown that separating cloves too early can reduce yield, so wait until you're ready to plant before breaking your bulbs apart.

Until planting time, keep your garlic:

• In a cool, dry place

• Out of direct sunlight

• Somewhere with good airflow

• Away from excessive heat and humidity

A mesh bag, open basket, or other breathable container works well.

Avoid sealed plastic bags or airtight containers where moisture can accumulate.

Most importantly, don't automatically put your garlic in the refrigerator when it arrives.

Refrigeration has a specific purpose when growing garlic, and whether you need it depends on where you're planting.

Why Does Garlic Need Cold?

Garlic needs a period of cold temperatures known as vernalization.

This cold period helps trigger the processes that allow a planted clove to eventually divide and develop into a full bulb.

For many gardeners, Mother Nature takes care of this completely.

When garlic is planted in the fall in a cold-winter climate, the cloves spend winter in the ground and receive their necessary cold exposure naturally. Garlic generally requires about 6-8 weeks of temperatures below 40°F for proper bulb formation.

That's why fall planting works so beautifully in much of the country.

But what happens if your winters aren't very cold?

That's where pre-chilling can help.

Do I Need to Refrigerate My Seed Garlic?

If you have consistently cold winters: Probably not.

Plant your garlic in the fall at the appropriate time for your area and allow winter to provide the cold period naturally.

If you have mild winters: Maybe.

Your garlic may receive enough natural chilling outdoors, but some varieties—particularly hardneck garlic-can benefit from additional cold exposure when winter temperatures are inconsistent.

If you have warm winters: Yes, pre-chilling is a good idea, especially when growing hardneck varieties.

Refrigerating the bulbs before planting can simulate some of the winter conditions the garlic would experience in a colder climate.

If you're planting garlic in the spring: Pre-chilling becomes especially important.

Spring-planted garlic doesn't have an entire winter ahead of it. we recommend refrigerating cloves for approximately 8 weeks before spring planting to help satisfy their chilling requirement.

When Should I Put My Garlic in the Refrigerator?

Work backward from your expected planting date.

For example:

Planning to plant November 1?

Begin pre-chilling around early to mid-September.

Planning to plant December 1?

Begin around early to mid-October.

How to Refrigerate Seed Garlic

If your climate calls for pre-chilling, keep the bulbs whole while they're in the refrigerator.

Place them in something breathable, such as a paper bag or mesh bag, rather than sealing them inside plastic.

You want to provide cold conditions without trapping excessive moisture around the bulbs.

Keep your garlic away from areas of the refrigerator that regularly experience condensation or excess moisture, and check the bulbs occasionally.

Your garlic should remain firm and healthy.

Don't Separate the Cloves Yet

This one deserves repeating!

Wait until planting time to separate your bulbs into individual cloves.

When you're ready to plant, gently break apart each bulb while leaving the papery skin around each individual clove intact.

Choose healthy, firm cloves for planting and get them into the ground soon after separating them.

Generally, the larger cloves have the greatest potential to produce larger bulbs.

What If My Garlic Starts Sprouting?

Don't panic.

Garlic is alive, and sprouting simply means the clove has broken dormancy and started growing.

If your planting season has arrived, go ahead and plant it.

Handle sprouted cloves gently so you don't damage the emerging shoot, and plant them with the pointed end facing upward and the basal plate/root end facing downward.

Sprouting isn't automatically a sign that your seed garlic has gone bad.

Cold Climate vs. Warm Climate: A Quick Guide

Cold winters + fall planting
→ Store your garlic cool, dry, and well ventilated until planting. Refrigeration usually isn't necessary because winter provides the cold period.

Moderate winters + fall planting
→ Natural winter temperatures may provide sufficient chilling. Pre-chilling can be considered, particularly for hardneck varieties if your winters are consistently mild.

Warm winters + fall/winter planting
→ Consider pre-chilling your garlic for approximately 6-8 weeks before planting, especially hardneck varieties.

Spring planting
→ Pre-chill before planting. Approximately 8 weeks of refrigeration is commonly recommended when garlic hasn't received its cold requirement outdoors.

What About Hardneck vs. Softneck Garlic?

Not all garlic responds to climate in exactly the same way.

Hardneck garlic evolved in colder climates and generally performs best when it receives a substantial cold period. Gardeners in warm climates often need to pay closer attention to pre-chilling when growing hardneck varieties.

Softneck garlic is generally more adaptable to mild and warm-winter climates and often requires less intervention.

This is one reason choosing a garlic variety suited to your growing region is just as important as choosing beautiful seed stock.

A Few Things to Avoid

Don’t:

• Store seed garlic in a sealed plastic bag.

• Leave it somewhere hot or humid.

• Separate the cloves weeks or months before planting.

• Refrigerate it automatically simply because you're waiting to plant.

• Freeze your seed garlic.

• Remove the papery skin from individual cloves before planting.

Instead, keep the bulbs whole, dry, well ventilated, and appropriately cool until it's time to either begin your planned cold treatment or put them in the ground.

From Our Farm to Your Garden

Growing garlic is a lesson in patience.

From planting a single clove in the fall to pulling a beautiful, fully formed bulb the following summer, every stage plays a part-and giving your seed garlic the right conditions before planting is a great place to start.

When your garlic arrives, keep it cool, dry, and well ventilated. Then take a look at your local winter conditions.

Cold winter? Let Mother Nature do the chilling.

Warm winter? Give your garlic a little help with a planned period in the refrigerator.

Then, when planting day finally arrives, break apart those bulbs, get your cloves into the soil, and let the next garlic season begin. 🧄🌱

Still need to order seed garlic? Browse our available varieties here.