Home › California › Planting calendar › Garlic

California planting dates

When to Plant Garlic in California

For garlic in California, fall planting starts between Sep 1 (Imperial County) and Oct 1 (Alameda County), according to UC Master Gardener Program.

Photo: Neat rows of young garlic shoots growing in dark tilled soil. Timothy A. Gonsalves, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

More planting dates for California

Planting dates for each crop in California, from the UC Master Gardener Program calendar.

Tomatoes

Peppers

Potatoes

Sweet Corn

Green Beans

Cucumbers

Squash

Lettuce

Planting garlic in California: questions

When do you plant garlic in California?

For garlic in California, fall planting starts between Sep 1 (Imperial County) and Oct 1 (Alameda County), according to UC Master Gardener Program.

Can I plant garlic in the fall in California?

Yes. Fall planting starts between Sep 1 (Imperial County) and Oct 1 (Alameda County).

Does the frost date matter for garlic?

The windows above already account for frost as the publication describes. Check the California frost dates page for your county’s risk.

Where do these dates for garlic come from?

California Master Gardener Handbook Table 13.2 Time of planting (UC Master Gardener Program statewide page; table 'Recommended planting dates', source: California Master Gardener Handbook, Table 13.2).

Are the dates the same across the state?

Counties are matched to one of the four UC regions, and the region sets the dates.

Photos: Neat rows of young garlic shoots growing in dark tilled soil: Timothy A. Gonsalves, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Wave washing a beach beneath sandy bluffs on the California Coastal National Monument: mypubliclands, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Yellow desert wildflowers on dark volcanic ground near Amboy Crater: blmcalifornia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Wildflowers on a rocky slope in Short Canyon, Owens Peak Wilderness: Bureau of Land Management, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Orange and blue spring wildflowers below the eastern face of the Sierra Nevada at Owens Peak Wilderness: Bob Wick, Bureau of Land Management, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Unripe green tomato on the plant: Microrao, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Pepper plant in a kitchen garden loaded with green, yellow and red peppers: NPS, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Potato plant growing in a garden bed: Kolforn (Kolforn), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Field of sweet corn in summer: Marathon, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Clusters of long green bean pods hanging from a climbing bean vine: Nirajan_pant, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Cucumber vines climbing a wooden trellis in a kitchen garden: NPS, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Squash plant with yellow blossoms and spreading stems in a straw-mulched garden: Mary O'Neill, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Heads of lettuce in a garden bed: Prenn, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.