Planting Guides
When to Plant Garlic in the Pacific Northwest
Plant garlic in the Pacific Northwest from mid-October through November. Get the fall planting calendar, the best hardneck and softneck varieties, and the drainage and mulch tricks that beat our wet winters.
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Quick Answer
Plant garlic in the Pacific Northwest from mid-October through November. Set cloves 2 inches deep, mulch heavily, and harvest the following June or July.
TL;DR
In the Pacific Northwest, plant garlic in fall—mid-October through November west of the Cascades, late September through October inland. The cold winter triggers vernalization, the chilling process that tells each clove to split into a full bulb. Choose hardneck types like Allium sativum 'Music' for the maritime climate, set cloves 2 inches (5 cm) deep in well-drained soil, and mulch heavily against winter wet. Harvest the following June or July when the lower leaves brown, then cure for storage.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Plant garlic in fall: mid-October through November west of the Cascades, and late September through October in the colder interior around Spokane and Yakima. The goal is to get cloves rooted before the ground freezes. Fall planting gives garlic the sustained cold period it needs to vernalize and split into a full bulb, plus a long head start on root growth that produces much larger bulbs the following summer.
It's not recommended. Supermarket garlic is often a warm-climate softneck poorly adapted to our cold, wet winters, and it may be treated to inhibit sprouting. More importantly, grocery garlic can carry white rot, a soil-borne disease that persists for years and can ruin a bed for future allium crops. Always start with certified disease-free seed garlic from a reputable nursery or seed supplier.
Plant each clove pointed end up, about 2 inches (5 cm) deep to the tip, spaced 6 inches (15 cm) apart with rows 8-12 inches (20-30 cm) apart. In the colder inland PNW, the full 2-inch depth plus a heavy mulch layer helps protect cloves from frost heaving during winter freeze-thaw cycles. Break bulbs into individual cloves just before planting and use only the largest ones.
Yes, on hardneck varieties. When the curling flower stalk appears in late spring, snap it off after it makes one full loop. This redirects energy into the bulb and produces noticeably larger heads. The scapes themselves are edible and delicious—sauté them or blend into pesto. Softneck varieties don't produce scapes, so there's nothing to remove on those types.
Harvest in June or July when the lower third of the leaves have browned but five or six green leaves remain at the top. Each green leaf is a wrapper layer protecting the bulb. Stop watering 2-3 weeks before harvest to firm the wrappers, lift bulbs gently with a fork, and avoid washing them. Harvesting too late causes wrappers to split and dramatically shortens storage life.
Cure freshly harvested garlic for 3-4 weeks in a shaded, well-ventilated spot out of direct sun until the necks are dry and papery. Good airflow is essential in our humid climate. Once cured, trim the roots and stems and store bulbs in a cool, dry, dark place. Softneck varieties keep for many months, while hardnecks are best used within a few months of harvest.
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Sarah earned her doctorate in plant biology and spent time working in botanical garden education before transitioning to freelance writing and consulting. Now based in Portland, Oregon, she teaches plant identification workshops at local community centers and maintains a modest collection of over 60 houseplants in her small apartment. Sarah specializes in helping beginners understand plant science without the jargon—her approach focuses on practical observation over theory. She's killed her fair share of fiddle leaf figs and finally cracked the code on keeping them alive.
