When to plant garlic in Durham
Garlic is cold-hardy, so every date keys off Durham's frost dates of Apr 2.
Step 1 · Sow
Direct sow outdoors
Oct 4 – Oct 25
Sow straight into warm, workable soil.
Step 2 · Harvest
Harvest window
Jun 1 – Jun 1
Picking runs until conditions turn against the crop.
Window
Days to maturity
240 d
Durham's 218-day season leaves this much room.
Garlic on Durham'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 2
NOV 1
Common questions
When can I sow garlic outdoors in Durham?
Direct-sow around early October (Oct 4–Oct 25) in Durham, based on its local frost dates. Confidence 83%.
When will garlic be ready to harvest in Durham?
Expect to harvest from around early June (Jun 1–Jun 1) in Durham, based on its local frost dates. Confidence 75%.
How long is the growing season in Durham?
Durham has roughly 218 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 Durham's frost dates.
Confidence 83/100 · Curated · based on NOAA GHCN-Daily 1991–2020 normal · frost dates are probabilities, not guarantees.