I won't lie, it takes a lot of patience to grow garlic. We're 8 months after planting and that garlic crop is looking reeaaaally good right about now (if it didn't get affected by garlic rust, that is). The stems are stiff and upright, the leaves are green and full, and it seems like all those bulbs should be ready to pick, right?

Maaaaybe... but probably not. For most people—and depending on the type of garlic grown—harvest time could still be a few weeks away.

But unlike its allium cousin, the onion, garlic doesn't start to surface from the soil when it's ready. It stays where it's at underground and if you never harvest it, it simply dies back and regrows the following season—yes, garlic is a perennial vegetable! (And I actually do keep a patch of perennial garlic in my garden for the baby garlic in spring.)

So how can you tell, exactly, when you should pick your garlic?

If you pick too soon, you'll get smaller cloves that don't store well. Pick too late and the cloves will burst out of their protective outer skins, leaving them vulnerable to rotting (and even a worse chance of storing for long).

Rather than constantly digging up a bulb to check for size over the next few weeks, there's an easier way to tell when your garlic crop is ready for harvest: just look at the leaves.

​Here's how to know when garlic is ready to pick, plus what to do if you harvest your garlic too early or too late.​

Seasonal tips

Stop Garlic Rust Before It Starts (and What To Do If It's Too Late) Read more

9 Easy Ways to Use Garlic Scapes in Your Everyday Cooking Read more

How to Harvest, Cure, and Store Your Garlic for Year-Round Use Read more

3 Signs Your Onions Are Ready to Harvest Read more

How Long to Run Drip Irrigation: Use This Simple Calculator Read more

Fertilizer NPK Ratios Are Not What You Think They Are Read more

P.S. If you have trouble knowing when your garlic is ready to harvest, here's a foolproof way to tell—without digging up your bulbs every week.

P.P.S. You've put in time and effort to grow all that beautiful produce. Now, learn how to make your fruits and vegetables last longer by storing them properly.

My Fruit & Vegetable Storage Guide is packed with tips on the best storage conditions for all types of produce, how to revive wilted greens, how to create your own root cellar (even if you don't have an actual root cellar), plus printable charts to hang in your pantry or cupboard.

This is a $7 guide that will save you hundreds in wasted food! And of course, it works for produce you grow as well as produce you buy.