When to plant garlic in Canberra
Garlic is cold-hardy, so every date keys off Canberra's frost dates of Oct 20.
Step 1 · Sow
Direct sow outdoors
Mar 23 – Apr 13
Sow straight into warm, workable soil.
Step 2 · Harvest
Harvest window
Nov 18 – Nov 18
Picking runs until conditions turn against the crop.
Window
Days to maturity
240 d
Canberra's 182-day season leaves this much room.
Garlic on Canberra's growing year
Frost-bounded season with crops mapped onto the 12-month axis.
Frost risk Growing Harvest
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC
FROST
OCT 20
APR 20
Common questions
When can I sow garlic outdoors in Canberra?
Direct-sow around late March (Mar 23–Apr 13) in Canberra, based on its local frost dates. Confidence 82%.
When will garlic be ready to harvest in Canberra?
Expect to harvest from around mid November (Nov 18–Nov 18) in Canberra, based on its local frost dates. Confidence 74%.
How long is the growing season in Canberra?
Canberra has roughly 182 frost-free days, which is marginal time to grow garlic to maturity outdoors.
The rule of thumb
Sow garlic as soon as the soil is workable — it tolerates cool weather and light frost. Every date on this page is derived from that rule and Canberra's frost dates.
Confidence 82/100 · NOAA GHCN-Daily · 1991–2020 normals · frost dates are probabilities, not guarantees.