I plant in the fall.. If you plant now you may get garlic heads with small cloves or undivided garlic rounds. You have some good ideas on what to do... Garlic need a cool period to grow properly. So you may have to figure out a plan that involves cool weather. I dont know how cool your Januarys are but that may be your best bet, plant now, pull in autumn, resting, then replant in January... You probably can also pull early and rest them and replant in fall.. I wouldn't try to hold them until fall unless you know that particular variety keeps long. I learned the hard way. I had some garlic bulbs that I was trying to hold just shrivel up over a couple of months...

You should still plant it and as quickly as possible. I say if possible because I think its gotten cold there again. Punch little holes in the ground with a crowbar if you have to. They will start sprouting in February.

>why shouldn't I just replant the cloves I choose as I harvest them? It might work. Garlic is, at base, a perennial. But I see two things that would concern me. First, the tops might grow too fast, then die back in late fall/winter. That's a lot of energy gone, that might effect the overwintering roots. On the other hand, they just might go through a summer dormancy the way some onions do. Second, it's likely to be hit or miss, with the replanted cloves rotting from summer rains. The fresh cloves are much more suseptible to this, as compared to cured ones, because the wrappers dissolve before roots can establish themselves. Give it a try. But be sure and reserve some of your seed stock for fall planting, just in case.

no, i planted mine yesterday. columbus day is the day to plant, supposedly to allow root growth to anchor the clove against heaving as the ground freezes and thaws. i was told by a couple of vermonters last month that they planted in mid december and had no problems. they are 1/2 up the state so if they did that i really question this columbus day thing. tom