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When to plant garlic

Garlic timing, counted from your average last spring frost and first fall frost. Plant cloves in fall around the first frost; harvest the next summer.

Seasoncool-season, hardy to frost
Fall sowing6 weeks before to 2 weeks before the first fall frost
Soil temperature to germinate35°F or warmer
Days to maturity240–270 days from planting
Spacing4–6 in apart, rows 12–18 in apart
Seed depth2.0 in
Garlic bulbs and separated cloves
Photo: Ivar Leidus, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Example dates

PlaceDates
Austin, TX (78701)Fall sowing: Oct 6–Nov 3
Atlanta, GA (30303)Fall sowing: Sep 27–Oct 25
St. Louis, MO (63101)Fall sowing: Sep 23–Oct 21
Chicago, IL (60614)Fall sowing: Sep 24–Oct 22
Denver, CO (80202)Fall sowing: Aug 31–Sep 28
Seattle, WA (98101)Fall sowing: Oct 6–Nov 3

Every ZIP page has its own dates. Find your ZIP.

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Sources

Summarized in our own words from public extension publications.

All vegetables · Your ZIP's planting calendar