When to plant garlic
Garlic is a cool-season crop that tolerates light frost and prefers to grow in cool weather. Plant cloves in fall around the first frost; harvest next summer when the lower leaves brown.
- Plant cloves 2 weeks before to 3 weeks after the first fall frost.
About 240 days from planting to harvest.
Get exact dates for your garden
Planting dates by hardiness zone
| Zone | Typical last frost | Start indoors | Sow outdoors | Fall crop |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2a | May 24 | — | — | Aug 23 – Sep 27 |
| 3b | May 17 | — | — | Sep 10 – Oct 15 |
| 4a | May 12 | — | — | Sep 14 – Oct 19 |
| 4b | May 8 | — | — | Sep 17 – Oct 22 |
| 5a | May 3 | — | — | Sep 21 – Oct 26 |
| 5b | May 1 | — | — | Sep 27 – Nov 1 |
| 6a | Apr 29 | — | — | Oct 3 – Nov 7 |
| 6b | Apr 22 | — | — | Oct 8 – Nov 12 |
| 7a | Apr 16 | — | — | Oct 11 – Nov 15 |
| 7b | Apr 5 | — | — | Oct 18 – Nov 22 |
| 8a | Mar 29 | — | — | Oct 24 – Nov 28 |
| 8b | Mar 16 | — | — | Oct 31 – Dec 5 |
| 9a | Mar 3 | — | — | Nov 11 – Dec 16 |
| 9b | Feb 20 | — | — | Nov 21 – Dec 26 |
| 10a | Mar 2 | — | — | Nov 17 – Dec 22 |
Zone rows use the median frost dates of all ZIP codes in that zone. Zones measure winter cold, not season length, so two places in the same zone can have frost dates weeks apart — use your ZIP code for real dates.
When to plant garlic in major cities
| City | Median last frost | Plant |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle, WA | Mar 13 | Nov 3 – Dec 8 |
| Portland, OR | Feb 25 | Nov 17 – Dec 22 |
| Salt Lake City, UT | Apr 25 | Oct 4 – Nov 8 |
| Denver, CO | Apr 30 | Sep 28 – Nov 2 |
| Minneapolis, MN | Apr 23 | Oct 2 – Nov 6 |
| Chicago, IL | Apr 10 | Oct 22 – Nov 26 |
| Detroit, MI | Apr 27 | Oct 11 – Nov 15 |
| Kansas City, MO | Apr 4 | Oct 19 – Nov 23 |
| Columbus, OH | Apr 20 | Oct 10 – Nov 14 |
| Boston, MA | Apr 4 | Oct 26 – Nov 30 |
| New York, NY | Mar 30 | Nov 6 – Dec 11 |
| Philadelphia, PA | Mar 30 | Nov 3 – Dec 8 |
| Washington, DC | Mar 29 | Oct 25 – Nov 29 |
| Charlotte, NC | Mar 30 | Oct 20 – Nov 24 |
| Nashville, TN | Apr 1 | Oct 17 – Nov 21 |
| Atlanta, GA | Mar 25 | Oct 26 – Nov 30 |
| Dallas, TX | Mar 2 | Nov 15 – Dec 20 |
Growing garlic: quick facts
| Frost tolerance | Hardy: survives hard frosts, down to about 25°F or colder |
|---|---|
| Planting depth | cloves 2 in deep, point up |
| Spacing | 4–6 in |
| Germination | roots in fall, shoots by spring |
| Days to harvest | about 240 days from planting |
Typical figures from university extension planting guides. Seed packets give the best numbers for a specific variety.