Recommendations for garlic and onion varieties to grow in Littleton area - Ask Extension
Hello,
I am an experienced home gardener in Arapahoe County looking to expand my harvest this year. Do you have any recommendations on the best var...
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Recommendations for garlic and onion varieties to grow in Littleton area #923786
Asked January 20, 2026, 1:04 PM EST
Hello,
I am an experienced home gardener in Arapahoe County looking to expand my harvest this year. Do you have any recommendations on the best varieties of onions and garlic to grow in this area?
Ideally, I'd like to be able to store these for several months to offset purchasing from the grocery.
Thanks for any tips and guidance!
Arapahoe County Colorado
Expert Response
Loretta,
Thank you for your question and for using the Ask Extension service.
While both garlic and onions are in the Allium family, they are planted at different times of the year. Garlic is planted in the fall for a summer harvest the next year and onions are planted in the spring for summer/fall harvest.
Let's talk about garlic first. There are two varieties of garlic, softneck and hardneck. Softneck varieties, such as Music, Chesnok Red and German Extra Hardy are good storing varities. Hardneck varieties, such as Inchelium Red, Silverskin, Silver White and Elephant garlic do not keep as long. There are other varieties of garlic that are fun to try as each has a distinctive flavor. Be sure to buy your garlic bulbs from a garden or nursery center and not from the grocery store. Grocery store garlic will be sprayed with a sprout inhibitor. Here are two good resources regarding growing garlic:
https://denvergardeners.wordpress.com/2020/09/10/growing-garlic-in-colorado/
https://planttalk.colostate.edu/topics/vegetables/1827-harvesting-garlic/
There are three ways to grow onions, by seed, onion sets or onion plants. In Colorado you will want to grow onions that are long-day or day-neutral varieties. Varieties to consider are Copra, Early Yellow Globe and Snow white. Ailsa Craig Exhibition and Walla Walla Sweet are short term storage onions but both have a wonderful flavor. Local garden centers or nurseries will have onion sets or plants that you can purchase. Growing onions from seed is a good way to get different varieties that are not available at the garden centers. PlantTalk #1808 is a good resource on how to grow onions from seed. You can start them indoors 10-12 weeks before planting outdoors mid-April to mid-May.
https://planttalk.colostate.edu/topics/vegetables/1808-growing-onions-seed/
I hope you will find this information useful. Happy Gardening!
Debbie M.
Colorado Master Gardener
Arapahoe County
Thank you for your question and for using the Ask Extension service.
While both garlic and onions are in the Allium family, they are planted at different times of the year. Garlic is planted in the fall for a summer harvest the next year and onions are planted in the spring for summer/fall harvest.
Let's talk about garlic first. There are two varieties of garlic, softneck and hardneck. Softneck varieties, such as Music, Chesnok Red and German Extra Hardy are good storing varities. Hardneck varieties, such as Inchelium Red, Silverskin, Silver White and Elephant garlic do not keep as long. There are other varieties of garlic that are fun to try as each has a distinctive flavor. Be sure to buy your garlic bulbs from a garden or nursery center and not from the grocery store. Grocery store garlic will be sprayed with a sprout inhibitor. Here are two good resources regarding growing garlic:
https://denvergardeners.wordpress.com/2020/09/10/growing-garlic-in-colorado/
https://planttalk.colostate.edu/topics/vegetables/1827-harvesting-garlic/
There are three ways to grow onions, by seed, onion sets or onion plants. In Colorado you will want to grow onions that are long-day or day-neutral varieties. Varieties to consider are Copra, Early Yellow Globe and Snow white. Ailsa Craig Exhibition and Walla Walla Sweet are short term storage onions but both have a wonderful flavor. Local garden centers or nurseries will have onion sets or plants that you can purchase. Growing onions from seed is a good way to get different varieties that are not available at the garden centers. PlantTalk #1808 is a good resource on how to grow onions from seed. You can start them indoors 10-12 weeks before planting outdoors mid-April to mid-May.
https://planttalk.colostate.edu/topics/vegetables/1808-growing-onions-seed/
I hope you will find this information useful. Happy Gardening!
Debbie M.
Colorado Master Gardener
Arapahoe County
