When to Plant Garlic in Zones 5-6 (2026)

Garlic runs on a different calendar than the rest of the vegetable garden. Instead of waiting for spring’s last frost, you plant cloves in fall and let the crop sit through winter.

The date that matters: your first fall frost, not your last spring one

University of Minnesota Extension’s guide to growing garlic gives the timing directly: plant cloves in the fall, usually one or two weeks after the first killing frost. That’s a deliberate wait — planting too early can push top growth before winter, which weakens the clove.

The source also gives a harvest range: depending on variety and climate zone, harvest garlic between late June and late July the following summer.

Worked example

Suppose your average first fall frost lands around October 10.

• Plant cloves: about one to two weeks after that killing frost, so roughly October 17 to October 24.
• Harvest: the following summer, sometime between late June and late July, depending on your variety.

That’s close to nine months in the ground — garlic is a long-season, low-maintenance crop once it’s planted and mulched.

Before you plant, check off