Garlic vs onion

If you’re deciding between garlic and onions for your garden, the short answer is: grow both if you have space, but if you must choose, garlic is easier for most home gardeners. Garlic requires less fussing over day length, stores longer, and has fewer pest problems. Onions demand more precise timing and soil fertility, but they give you a bigger yield per square foot. Here’s the breakdown so you can pick what fits your garden and your cooking.

Climate and Day Length

Onions are day-length sensitive. They bulb based on how many hours of daylight they get, not just temperature. In the North (zones 5 and colder), you need long-day varieties like ‘Yellow Sweet Spanish’ or ‘Walla Walla’. In the South (zones 7 and warmer), short-day types like ‘Texas SuperSweet’ or ‘Red Creole’ are the only reliable choice. If you plant the wrong type, you’ll get tops and no bulbs.

Garlic doesn’t care about day length. It responds to temperature and soil temperature. You plant cloves in fall (zones 3-7) or early spring (zones 8-10), and the bulb forms when the soil warms in late spring. This makes garlic more forgiving if you’re unsure about your zone.

Planting and Effort

Garlic is nearly set-and-forget. You break apart a bulb, plant each clove 2 inches deep and 6 inches apart, with rows 12 inches apart. Mulch heavily with straw or leaves in fall to protect over winter. In spring, just water during dry spells and pull any weeds. Harvest when the lower leaves turn brown, usually mid-summer.

Onions need more attention. You can start from seed (slow, 10-12 weeks indoors), sets (small bulbs, easiest), or transplants (fastest). Plant sets or transplants 1 inch deep, 4 inches apart, in rows 12 inches apart. Onions have shallow roots, so they need consistent moisture and regular weeding. Stop watering when the tops start to flop, then pull and cure.

Soil and Fertilizer

Both are heavy feeders, but onions are pickier. They need rich, well-drained soil with a pH of 6.0-7.0. Work in 2 inches of compost before planting. For onions, side-dress with nitrogen (like blood meal) every 3 weeks until bulbing starts. Garlic only needs a balanced fertilizer at planting (like 10-10-10) and maybe a top-dress in early spring if leaves look pale.

Harvest and Storage

Garlic wins on storage. Cured properly (2-3 weeks in a dry, airy place), hardneck garlic keeps 4-6 months, softneck 6-8 months. Onions, if cured well, last 3-6 months depending on variety. Sweet onions like ‘Vidalia’ store only a few weeks, so grow pungent types like ‘Copra’ or ‘Redwing’ for long-term storage.

Yield and Cost

Onions give more per square foot. A 10-foot row of onions (about 30 plants) yields 15-20 pounds. The same row of garlic (20 plants) yields 2-3 pounds of bulbs. But garlic costs more to buy: $1-2 per bulb at the store, while onion sets run $10-15 for 100. Seed garlic for planting runs $10-20 per pound, which is 8-12 bulbs. In 2026, expect to pay $40-60 for a 5-pound bag of seed garlic.

Pests and Problems

Both have few pests if you rotate crops. Onion maggots can be a problem in cool, wet springs. Use row covers or plant later. Garlic is rarely bothered by pests, but white rot (a soil fungus) can wipe out a bed for years. Don’t plant either where other alliums grew in the last 3 years.

Which Is Easier for Beginners?

Garlic. You plant in fall, ignore it, harvest in summer. Onions require more timing and care. If you’re new, start with garlic. If you have space, grow both: garlic in fall, onions in spring. They complement each other in the kitchen and the garden.

FAQ

Can I grow garlic and onions together? Yes, but give them separate beds. They compete for nutrients and can share diseases. Rotate them with other crops each year.

What’s the best garlic for beginners? Softneck types like ‘California Early’ or ‘Inchelium Red’ are easiest. They store long and don’t bolt. Hardneck types like ‘Music’ have bigger cloves but shorter storage.

How do I know when to harvest onions? When about half the tops have fallen over, bend the rest down, wait a week, then pull. Cure them in a dry, shaded spot for 2 weeks.

Can I plant garlic in spring? In zones 8-10, yes, plant in late winter or early spring. In colder zones, spring-planted garlic will grow but form smaller bulbs. Fall planting is best for zones 3-7.

The Bottom Line

Garlic is the lower-effort, higher-cost crop that stores well. Onions are higher-effort, lower-cost, and more productive per foot. If you only have a small bed, go with garlic. If you want a big harvest for cooking, onions. But honestly, try both: they’re both easy once you know the basics, and you’ll be glad you did when you’re pulling fresh bulbs next summer.