When to plant garlic in Washington
Garlic is cold-hardy, so every date keys off Washington's frost dates of Mar 24.
Step 1 · Sow
Direct sow outdoors
Oct 20 – Nov 10
Sow straight into warm, workable soil.
Step 2 · Harvest
Harvest window
Jun 17 – Jun 17
Picking runs until conditions turn against the crop.
Window
Days to maturity
240 d
Washington's 234-day season leaves this much room.
Garlic on Washington'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 24
NOV 17
Common questions
When can I sow garlic outdoors in Washington?
Direct-sow around mid October (Oct 20–Nov 10) in Washington, based on its local frost dates. Confidence 89%.
When will garlic be ready to harvest in Washington?
Expect to harvest from around mid June (Jun 17–Jun 17) in Washington, based on its local frost dates. Confidence 80%.
How long is the growing season in Washington?
Washington has roughly 234 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 Washington's frost dates.
Confidence 89/100 · Curated · based on NOAA GHCN-Daily 1991–2020 normal · frost dates are probabilities, not guarantees.