When to plant garlic in Chesapeake
Garlic is cold-hardy, so every date keys off Chesapeake's frost dates of Mar 18.
Step 1 · Sow
Direct sow outdoors
Oct 21 – Nov 11
Sow straight into warm, workable soil.
Step 2 · Harvest
Harvest window
Jun 18 – Jun 18
Picking runs until conditions turn against the crop.
Window
Days to maturity
240 d
Chesapeake's 248-day season leaves this much room.
Garlic on Chesapeake'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
MAR 18
NOV 18
Common questions
When can I sow garlic outdoors in Chesapeake?
Direct-sow around late October (Oct 21–Nov 11) in Chesapeake, based on its local frost dates. Confidence 89%.
When will garlic be ready to harvest in Chesapeake?
Expect to harvest from around mid June (Jun 18–Jun 18) in Chesapeake, based on its local frost dates. Confidence 80%.
How long is the growing season in Chesapeake?
Chesapeake has roughly 248 frost-free days, which is enough 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 Chesapeake's frost dates.
Confidence 89/100 · Curated · based on NOAA GHCN-Daily 1991–2020 normal · frost dates are probabilities, not guarantees.