When to plant garlic in Seattle
Garlic is cold-hardy, so every date keys off Seattle's frost dates of Mar 17.
Step 1 · Sow
Direct sow outdoors
Oct 16 – Nov 6
Sow straight into warm, workable soil.
Step 2 · Harvest
Harvest window
Jun 13 – Jun 13
Picking runs until conditions turn against the crop.
Window
Days to maturity
240 d
Seattle's 237-day season leaves this much room.
Garlic on Seattle'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 17
NOV 13
Common questions
When can I sow garlic outdoors in Seattle?
Direct-sow around mid October (Oct 16–Nov 6) in Seattle, based on its local frost dates. Confidence 83%.
When will garlic be ready to harvest in Seattle?
Expect to harvest from around mid June (Jun 13–Jun 13) in Seattle, based on its local frost dates. Confidence 75%.
How long is the growing season in Seattle?
Seattle has roughly 237 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 Seattle's frost dates.
Confidence 83/100 · Curated · based on NOAA GHCN-Daily 1991–2020 normal · frost dates are probabilities, not guarantees.