Garlic is a popular vegetable that also doubles as an herb in many dishes. With its distinctive pungent flavor garlic adds an extra kick of flavor to soups, sauces meat dishes, and more. If you’re a fan of garlic, you may have wondered if it’s too late in the season to plant some. I was curious about this myself, so I did some research to find out.
When is the Best Time to Plant Garlic?
The ideal time to plant garlic is in mid-to-late fall, around October or November. Planting garlic in the fall allows time for the cloves to develop a good root system before winter. The timing depends a bit on your growing zone. In cooler climates like zone 5, aim for October. In warmer areas like zone 7 or 8, you can plant as late as December.
Spring planting is not recommended because garlic needs a period of vernalization – exposure to cold winter temperatures – for the bulbs to form properly. Planting in fall means the garlic will be vernalized over winter and ready to grow when spring arrives.
Can You Plant Garlic in Early Spring?
You can attempt to plant garlic in early spring, but it is generally not recommended One reason is that the cloves may not have enough time to vernalize over the winter Spring soil temperatures are also cooler, which slows initial root growth. Finally, an early spring planting means the garlic has less time to mature before summer harvest.
You can plant in the spring, but it will not do as well and produce less than if you planted in the fall. The bulbs will likely be smaller. In very warm places (zones 8–10), garlic can be planted in the winter, but not everywhere else.
How Late is Too Late to Plant Garlic?
Just how late is too late to plant garlic? To find out, I looked at some research on planting garlic at different dates.
One study tested planting garlic in zone 5 on October 1st, November 1st, December 1st, and March 1st. The October and November plantings had the largest bulbs at harvest, followed by December, and finally March.
- October bulbs were large, averaging 5 cloves per bulb
- November bulbs were slightly smaller but still large, averaging 4 cloves per bulb
- December bulbs were noticeably smaller with 3 cloves per bulb on average
- March bulbs were the smallest, with just 2 tiny cloves per bulb
The results clearly showed earlier fall planting produced better yields. However, December was still reasonable, while March was quite late.
I think the deadline for zone 5 is late December. After Christmas, it’s really too late for a worthwhile crop. You might have one or two more weeks in zones 6 and 7 before it’s too late.
Should You Bother Planting Garlic in Early Spring?
If you plant in the spring too late, you might still get some results. Since the bulbs are likely to be small, there won’t be a full harvest. But planting in the spring can be worth it just to get garlic for the next season.
The advantage of spring planting is it keeps the cloves alive through summer until they can be replanted in fall. If you miss the fall planting window, a spring crop is better than no crop at all! It ensures you’ll still have garlic to plant in the fall.
Tips for Late Season Garlic Planting
If you find yourself planting garlic in spring, here are some tips to get the best results:
- Choose the largest cloves from the bunch to plant – small cloves will produce poorer yields
- Plant in a sunny spot with well-drained soil enriched with compost
- Space the cloves 4-6 inches apart to prevent overcrowding
- Consider planting in containers you can move to warm, sunny spots
- Water regularly if rainfall is lacking to keep soil moist
- Mulch around the plants to retain moisture and suppress weeds
While yields will be lower, you can still produce usable garlic bulbs from a late spring planting. Just lower your expectations and focus on keeping the plants healthy.
To summarize, garlic does best when planted in fall but can still produce bulbs if planted in late winter or early spring. For cold climates like zone 5, I recommend planting garlic by late December at the absolute latest. Waiting until spring means much lower yields. However, a small spring crop is better than skipping a season entirely. With proper care, you can harvest garlic from a late planting and replant the cloves in fall.
How to Vernalize Spring Garlic
Garlic is best planted in the fall because the cold weather triggers a process known as “vernalization”. Vernalization is when cold conditions trigger a sprouting process in the garlic. In my zone 5 garden in Wisconsin, I plant my garlic at the end of October or beginning of November depending on the weather. That way the cold winter months vernalize the garlic.
But, as we discussed at the beginning of the article, you can still plant garlic in spring. Ideally, you would mimic the vernalization process by placing your garlic cloves in the fridge for 4-8 weeks.
But, in all honesty, I’ve planted garlic in spring without doing this. You do run the risk that the garlic won’t form individual cloves, but I’ve found that mine did when I planted spring garlic without putting it in the fridge first.
How to Plant Garlic
Step 1: Prep your garlic bed for planting.
I have heavy soil, so I break up the soil by using my favorite garden tool, the digging fork. (I have several, including this one
In over 20 years of gardening I’ve always had a no-till garden. Tilling destroys the soil structure and I hate wrestling with loud machines. Gardening should be quiet and peaceful!.
Step 2: Add organic fertilizer.
After struggling with soil nutrient issues in several of my gardens over the years, I now recommend that all gardeners add organic garden fertilizer to their garden beds before each planting of seeds and plants. This applies when planting garlic in spring. Read all about it, including what kinds you should buy, in this article about organic garden fertilizer.
Step 3: Pop the garlic.
When planting garlic you’re planting the individual cloves, not the entire bulb. One clove will grow into a whole bulb by the time it’s ready to harvest. That’s a pretty good payback!.
“Popping the garlic” is a fancy way of saying breaking the bulbs into the individual cloves. I usually do this over a bucket or bowl to catch the cloves and loose paper covering the cloves and bulb.
Keep the paper on each clove, you don’t need to peel them. It will offer a protective layer while they’re in the ground.
If you’re planting more than one variety at a time and you want to keep track of each one, work with them separately and keep them in their own containers with a label.
Step 4: How to plant garlic in spring.
Garlic spacing is six inches between each clove on all sides. I’ve experimented with tighter spacing, four inches, but it resulted in smaller bulbs and cloves. Personally, bigger is better in my book!.
Six inch spacing means you can fit a lot of garlic in a small space. I can usually squeeze all of my 220 cloves in two larger garden beds. Mark your rake handle every six inches to make it easy to find out how far apart the cloves are. Or you can use a measuring tape spread out over the width of the bed.
The cloves should be planted about four to six inches deep. If you can’t easily get them down into the soil that far, use a tool like a dandelion digger
Make sure you’re planting the clove pointy side up and root side down.
After you plant, use your hands to even out the soil and make sure each clove is fully covered.
Watch the accompanying video to watch me planting garlic in my garden.
Step 5: Mark the varieties.
Make sure you write down the names of your garlic varieties on your garden map so you can tell them apart when it’s time to harvest.
I also write each variety name on a stake and pound it into the ground in front of the first row. On your map, you can also write the amount of each variety you planted so you can evaluate if it’s enough (or too much) next year.
Keeping records over time helped me figure out that 220 cloves was just about right. There’s no need for us to plant more, even when we have extra seed.
How Late is Too Late to Plant Garlic?
FAQ
What happens when you plant garlic too late?
It should still grow into a great plant if you plant it late, but the clove might not have enough time to get its roots going and become rooted in place.
What happens if you plant garlic in the summer?
Planting garlic in the summer is not ideal, but it’s not impossible to get a harvest. Garlic bulbs usually need to be chilled before they can grow properly. If you plant garlic in the summer, it might not form separate cloves and instead grow into a smaller, onion-like bulb.
What should you not plant next to garlic?
Other plants that should not be planted with garlic are: Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis)
Beans (Phaseolus and Vicia)
Leeks (Allium porrum)
Onions (Allium cepa)
Ornamental onions (Allium spec )Parsley (Petroselinum crispum)Peas (Pisum sativum).
Can you grow garlic all year around?
HOW TO HAVE HOMEGROWN GARLIC YEAR-ROUND! Work out how many cloves of garlic your household needs each week. Multiply x 52 weeks. Plant the required number of cloves (number of bulbs you’ll need depends on the variety you choose, e.g. some varieties average 10 cloves per bulb).