Jennie,
October is the ideal time for garlic planting in the NW. Always plant back your biggest bulbs/cloves, and save the smaller ones for eating. Depending on the type, some will get a better start than others right after planting, but don't worry, even those that don't sprout will do fine come spring. Garlic is a heavy feeder, so fertilize in the fall and again in the spring, when it starts growing well.

Dig your garlic when the tops die back, and let them dry in the sun for sev days or a week. Then you can trim and clean them - the dirty outer skins will rub off rather easily at that time. Some say the seed heads should be cut off as they begin to develop in the spring, so that the energy of the plant can be directed to bulb development - others say it doesn't make any difference. Do a test with yours and see.

It's important to keep your garlic bed weed free for best results. And when it stops raining regularly, don't let your garlic dry out - that's just when it's developing the bulbs, and it needs lots of water then. However, you should stop watering about 3 weeks prior to harvest - In my garden, that's sometime about mid/end of June. You can get a clue that it's time to stop watering when some of the outer leaves start dying off. If you find during harvest that a lot of your bulbs have started to split open, that means that you waited a bit too long to harvest.

Have fun with that garlic.
John

Thank you! Very useful information!

Saw some nice-looking red garlic bulbs for planting displayed near checkout at Plant Farm at Smokey Point a few days ago, so outlets apparently think planting time is immiment. Plant has same fall-spring growth cycle as tulips and the other spring-blooming flower bulbs.