When to plant garlic in London
Garlic is cold-hardy, so every date keys off London's frost dates of Apr 10.
Step 1 · Sow
Direct sow outdoors
Oct 8 – Oct 29
Sow straight into warm, workable soil.
Step 2 · Harvest
Harvest window
Jun 4 – Jun 4
Picking runs until conditions turn against the crop.
Window
Days to maturity
240 d
London's 209-day season leaves this much room.
Garlic on London'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
FROST
APR 10
NOV 5
Common questions
When can I sow garlic outdoors in London?
Direct-sow around early October (Oct 8–Oct 29) in London, based on its local frost dates. Confidence 88%.
When will garlic be ready to harvest in London?
Expect to harvest from around early June (Jun 4–Jun 4) in London, based on its local frost dates. Confidence 79%.
How long is the growing season in London?
London has roughly 209 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 London's frost dates.
Confidence 88/100 · NOAA GHCN-Daily · 1991–2020 normals · frost dates are probabilities, not guarantees.