If you’re a gardener, chances are good that at some point in your life, someone has asked you about growing garlic. In fact, it’s one of the most popular crops among home gardeners — and for good reason! Garlic is delicious (and healthy), hardy, and easy to grow. But how much sun does garlic need? The answer may surprise you: It depends on what kind of garlic you’re growing.
Read on to find out more about this tasty crop, including its sun requirements and ideal growing conditions.
How Much Sun Does Garlic Need?
Garlic does best when it receives full sun. Garlic needs 6-8 hours of direct sunlight a day to grow and produce bulbs. You should plant your garlic in an area that gets at least 4 hours of direct sunlight per day so you don’t have to worry about the health of your plants being affected by lack of light.
If you have an area that gets at least 6 hours per day, then you can plant garlic there as well! If you live somewhere where there isn’t much sun and it doesn’t get above 80 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer, then consider planting your garlic in pots or containers so that they can be placed in areas where they are more likely to receive adequate amounts of sunlight throughout the day (like on a covered patio).
Does Garlic Prefer Full Sun?
Garlic is a perennial vegetable, so you can grow it year after year. But does garlic prefer full sun? The answer isn’t that simple.
Garlic does indeed prefer full sun, but it can also grow in partial shade. If you plant garlic in an area with too much shade or too little water, it won’t thrive as well and may not survive. However, if your garden soil doesn’t drain well and tends to be wet most of the year (especially if you live in an area where there are frequent rains) then planting your garlic cloves directly into the ground will give them a better chance of surviving.
It’s always best to start over each season instead of trying to replant old plants from previous seasons because they’re more likely to be infected with pests or diseases that could cause serious problems for next year’s crop.
Does Garlic Do Well In Shade?
Garlic will grow under the right conditions, but it prefers full sun and gets stressed in shade. Garlic doesn’t like partial sun either. If you have a sunny area where you can grow your garlic without any shade, all the better! But if you don’t have that kind of space to plant garlic, don’t worry—there are some other options for growing garlic that is still delicious and nutritious.
If you live in an area with cool summers and mild winters (think cooler than 90 degrees Fahrenheit), then growing your garlic indoors during the winter months might be ideal for you. Garlic likes temperatures between 65°F and 75°F when grown indoors. This can be accomplished by simply keeping the lights on for 12 hours each day until the last frost date has passed (usually November), then cutting back to eight hours per day until March or April before bringing it outside again in May or June so long as temperatures aren’t too hot!
Where Does Garlic Grow Best?
Garlic does best in a sunny, warm climate. The longer days of summer provide the garlic with plenty of time to ripen its bulbs before winter sets in.
Garlic thrives in a wide range of soil types, but it does not like wet conditions. The ideal soil is loose and well drained so that water can be absorbed easily by the plants’ roots. Garlic also does not require much fertilizer or extra nutrients; it prefers rockier soils that are rich in minerals such as iron and potassium.
Although garlic grows better when planted outdoors than indoors, which means there are some limitations to growing garlic indoors if you want to make sure your crop is successful:
- The plant needs full sun exposure all day long (at least 6 hours)
- It needs plenty of heat (above 50 degrees Fahrenheit)
- It needs little humidity
Can Garlic Get Too Much Sun?
You can grow garlic in full sun, but it may not produce as much. The problem is that garlic needs protection from the heat of the sun, particularly when it’s young.
Also, if you grow your garlic in a windy area (which is usually true where there’s lots of sunshine), you need to protect them from falling over and breaking off its tops.
It’s also important to protect your garlic from pests like rabbits and groundhogs who will happily snack on your plants!
Signs Your Garlic Isn’t Getting Enough Sun
The most common signs of insufficient sunlight are:
- Yellow leaves or leaves that are small and narrow
- Leaves curled up at the tips
- Leaves dry and brittle
If your plant is not receiving enough sunshine, its root system will be underdeveloped as well. When this happens, it’s likely that your garlic has little to no flavor and may have white or pale roots instead of the bright purple color you’ve come to expect from homegrown garlic.
Conclusion
We hope this article has helped you understand how much sun your garlic needs. Garlic like any other plant will need the sun to thrive. Make sure that your garlic receives at least 6 hours of sun each day and you should have plenty of bulbs to harvest.
