🧄 When to Plant Garlic

🥬 Vegetable
Cool Season

Plant in fall, 4-6 weeks before ground freezes

📅 Planting Calendar by USDA Zone

Select your zone to highlight your exact planting dates. Dates are calculated from each zone's average frost dates.

Find my zone
Zone Last Frost Start Indoors Transplant Direct Sow
Zone 2A May 30 Nov 29
Zone 3B May 15 Nov 14
Zone 4A May 8 Nov 7
Zone 4B May 1 Oct 31
Zone 5A Apr 25 Oct 25
Zone 5B Apr 18 Oct 18
Zone 6A Apr 21 Oct 21
Zone 6B Apr 10 Oct 10
Zone 7A Apr 5 Oct 5
Zone 7B Mar 28 Sep 27
Zone 8A Mar 20 Sep 19
Zone 8B Mar 12 Sep 11
Zone 9A Feb 28 Aug 30
Zone 9B Feb 15 Aug 17
Zone 10A Feb 1 Aug 3
Zone 10B Jan 15 Jul 17
Zone 11A Jan 1 Jul 3

Garlic is planted in fall and harvested in summer. It’s one of the most rewarding low-maintenance crops.

Top Growing Tips

  • Plant individual cloves in fall, 6 weeks before ground freezes
  • Hardneck varieties for cold climates (zones 3-6), softneck for warm (zones 7+)
  • Mulch heavily after planting to protect through winter
  • Cut scapes (flower stalks) in spring to redirect energy to bulbs
  • Harvest when lower 1/3 of leaves have browned

Companion Planting

Good companions: tomatoes, roses, fruit trees, beets

Avoid planting near: beans, peas, asparagus

Harvest Timeline

8-9 months from fall planting