When to plant garlic in Wilmington
Garlic is cold-hardy, so every date keys off Wilmington's frost dates of Apr 6.
Step 1 · Sow
Direct sow outdoors
Oct 11 – Nov 1
Sow straight into warm, workable soil.
Step 2 · Harvest
Harvest window
Jun 8 – Jun 8
Picking runs until conditions turn against the crop.
Window
Days to maturity
240 d
Wilmington's 214-day season leaves this much room.
Garlic on Wilmington'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 6
NOV 8
Common questions
When can I sow garlic outdoors in Wilmington?
Direct-sow around mid October (Oct 11–Nov 1) in Wilmington, based on its local frost dates. Confidence 89%.
When will garlic be ready to harvest in Wilmington?
Expect to harvest from around early June (Jun 8–Jun 8) in Wilmington, based on its local frost dates. Confidence 80%.
How long is the growing season in Wilmington?
Wilmington has roughly 214 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 Wilmington's frost dates.
Confidence 89/100 · Curated · based on NOAA GHCN-Daily 1991–2020 normal · frost dates are probabilities, not guarantees.