Right around the first frost date or a little before is good. The soil is still warm enough to get some root development before the soil freezes. You might get some top growth the earlier you plant, but it doesn't matter to the overall yield next year.

I plant mine in mid-October.

Rodney

Mid October here too.

I plant mine in early October.

If there is growth above, I have plenty already, should I cut it back to the ground or close to it?

No Jim don't cut the top growth. I plant in mid October and usually get 2-3" of top growth in the month or so before the ground freezes. Around mid November I apply 4" or so of finely chopped leaves over the bed that covers most of the top growth and helps regulate the soil from the freeze/thaw cycle in the late winter as well as suppressing weeds.

Ok, thanks. I am well beyond that right now, closer to 6". It's been in the ground two weeks. The scallions are about 2-3" high.

So should I lay the growth over and cover it with thick straw?

I'd hold off for awhile on mulching it unless you are getting weeds growing in the bed already. You can use straw for mulch but don't use straw that has seeds in it and chop it up with a shredder or mower first. You don't want it to compact so much that the garlic can't get thru it in the spring. Sometimes with too much chopped leaves I have to 'liberate' some of the garlic in the spring because the new growth is growing sideways under the mulch. Don't lay the top growth over, just put the mulch around the leaves. It is OK if some of the top growth extends above the mulch.

Very strange. That sure seems like a lot of top growth for only having been planted a couple weeks ago. How deep did you plant the cloves? I plant mine with the top of the clove about 2" below the surface of the bed and it takes 2-3 weeks before I see anything breaking the surface.

2", the plant date was Sept 15. Local farmer told me I should be on mid to late September. I guess I pushed it. Everything here grows super fast it seems. I have all my pepper plants loaded with pods and new buds, butternut vines with 5/6 squash, a white scallop squash that was a huge bush and is now all vines over 10' and product ing regularly. The shallot just behind the garlic on the right were planted the same day.

in fact, there is not a lot of difference in the final product whether you plant Sept. 15 or Nov. 15.

In general, what's the best spacing for garlic, in rows and between rows?

Chris

I have planted as close as 6" in row and between rows (133 total in a 4'x10' raised bed). This year I am planting 6" spacing in row and 9" between rows with 95 total in a bed to give them a little more breathing room.

Ok, thank you.

I have a 4'x6' raised bed that I'm going to use exclusively for garlic. Should I start my rows about 4"-6" from the sides?

my garlic is planted in raised beds spaced 6 inches apart in all directions. I have tried wider spacings but haven't noticed any increase in bulb size so I went back to the 6 inch spacing.

Chris- A few inches from the side is fine.

Rodney

So I should just lay a thick cover or straw on the ground and let the tops stick out or should I cut them/lay them over and have the straw cover it?

I would not mulch until it gets much cooler, and rake it away in the Spring -- it holds in moisture and garlic has a tendency to rot in wet conditions, and as Lonejack said before the garlic can have trouble penetrating in the Spring.

Garlic is very tough to kill, from the cold that is. I wouldn't worry about it too much.

I plan on planting my garlic in about 3 weeks.

That's a good point....especially with the forecast for the next few days showing lots of rain in our area.

Love all the great advice on here.

Thanks, Rodney.

Chris

Jim, let us know what the outcome is next year.

Us zone sixers can learn a valuable lesson from your experience.

Mid to late October for me... Kind of depends on what the weather is like, we get a lot of fall rain early on so it can be a bit earlier or later depending on the weather.

I do tend to mulch heavy when I put in my garlic, usually with leaves- and that get's peeled back in the spring as soon as little garlic sprouts start showing up.

So if you were going to plant garlic around the recommended time in your area(approx Oct. 15 here), and noticed that it will rain for 3 days after the day you planned to plant, would you hold off on planting or plant before the rain comes?

It probably depends on how well your garlic bed drains. If the soil drains well the rain should not be a problem and the moisture will help the garlic to sprout and grow roots. If the soil drains poorly then it could cause cloves to rot before getting well established. But then again poorly draining soil may be problematic for the garlic period.

They will be in a 4'x6'x1' raised bed, so drainage is pretty good.

Thanks.

Jim, what was the result with your garlic? Did you get a good harvest this summer?

last year I planted the day before Thanksgiving, best crop ever

Jay

Congrats on the great crop, but I wouldn't expect to get away with that late of a garlic planting every year around here. In 2014 we already had frozen ground in mid November IIRC. I remember chiseling my Horseradish roots out of the frozen tundra during Missouri deer season...not fun!

Unless you are planting in one of your moveable high tunnels of course!

Yeah, last year's winter was a joke....

Funny you say that Lone Jack, I planted in a light shirt that day and we had snow and ice the following day.

Planting day

About 60% of our harvest

Nice mountain of garlic you have there Jay! That bulb looks a little different than anything I have grown...taller bulb and not as globe shaped as my varieties. Do you know what type it was? You should plant this variety called Purple Glazer for all those K-State fans at your market.

I assume you use your tractor to undercut the garlic rows rather than digging by hand?

I do not know what variety it is. We bough a bunch from another grower and he didn't know either. We have been growing it for 5 years now. I will have to check out Purple Glqzer.

All the garlic was dug by hand. I don't have an undercutter, maybe I should invest in that. I tried to plow it out with a middle buster, but I spent more time digging them out of the plowed dirt. Most were loose enough that they pulled out with minimal effort.

I know that I'm a zone colder than OP, but I wait until it's going to snow soon! As for mulch, I was always taught to not lay mulch until after a couple of hard frosts, or rodents will use it for their winter home. Telling a person to plant a few weeks before the ground freezes can be very iffy with our new weather patterns. Last winter, I could dig Jerusalem artichokes and salsify right through February...unheard of here...but as another poster said...garlic really isn't picky...it will survive..even if you plant it too early, but I would wait as long as possible.

Last year I planted mine in mid October. Then I got a new variety in the mid of November and planted it right away. Both grew pretty well, the November one was few days later then October one, but it may be due to different variety, not planting time. And we also had mild and late winter. So as soon as it enough time to develop roots, it's fine.