When to plant garlic in San Jose
Garlic is cold-hardy, so every date keys off San Jose's frost dates of Feb 12.
Step 1 · Sow
Direct sow outdoors
Nov 5 – Nov 26
Sow straight into warm, workable soil.
Step 2 · Harvest
Harvest window
Jul 3 – Jul 3
Picking runs until conditions turn against the crop.
Window
Days to maturity
240 d
San Jose's 294-day season leaves this much room.
Garlic on San Jose'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
FEB 12
DEC 3
Common questions
When can I sow garlic outdoors in San Jose?
Direct-sow around early November (Nov 5–Nov 26) in San Jose, based on its local frost dates. Confidence 82%.
When will garlic be ready to harvest in San Jose?
Expect to harvest from around early July (Jul 3–Jul 3) in San Jose, based on its local frost dates. Confidence 74%.
How long is the growing season in San Jose?
San Jose has roughly 294 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 San Jose's frost dates.
Confidence 82/100 · Curated · based on NOAA GHCN-Daily 1991–2020 normal · frost dates are probabilities, not guarantees.