Time in the ground is meaningless. Harvest when about a third or so of the leaves turn brown. Just checking, but you do realize that the cloves will be encased in a tunic, correct? Before they’re ready to pick it may look like one solid bulb.

tj

It's hard to tell in your case because more information is needed. What is your zone?

There are over 800 varieties of garlic grown around the world and when to plant, and how depends on variety and location. Most garlic in supermarkets come from California or china. When I learned a lot comes from china is when I started growing my own and could never be happier.

It's become the easiest crop to grow but when to plant and what variety for your area are the key points to know for your location. I started with 2 different varieties and only one bulb of each which were certified seed garlic, and from those two bulbs I have 300 bulbs in the ground which will be harvested sometime in July.

I don't know your location or what you planted but garlic really doesn't start producing a bulb until the last month before harvesting. Timing is critical to pick when bulbs are full but not so late the cloves start to separate. A week to early and you'll lose 30% of the size.

Care to give more details?

Kevin, I am in southern California, zone is 10a.

Tsugajunkie. My garlic seems to have grown more leaves over time. Does it stop growing leaves at some point? So I know the leaves I have now are the maximum amount, and just look for 1/3 of them to brown? I guess I should leave all leaves on the plant then, to be able tell, including the withered ones.

I only know what garlic looks like from the grocery store. This is my first time trying to grow it myself. I do know there weren't any cloves in the plant I plucked up though because I cut into it and it's more or less just one solid mass. There was no sign of papery wrapping anywhere.

There is a high probability the variety you planted is called California Early. It's a soft neck garlic and it's usually planted in the late fall (November) and requires about 240 days but growing time depends more on air and ground temperatures and most important the day light hours. You planted a little Early but not an issue and your garlic should be ready for harvest late April to early may so give it a little more time. Like I said the majority of the bulb bulking is in the last few weeks.

Your bottom leaves could be turning prematurely because of a nutrient issue. Have you ever fertilized the garlic? In the bulking process minerals are removed from the leaves to to supply the bulb and if the plants were deficient in nutrients before bulking started the leaves would turn prematurely. Don't fertilize now, it's to late and any fertilization should be done about a month before the garlic starts bulking.