Affectionately known as the “Peach State,” Georgia has a deep agriculture and home gardening tradition. Georgis’s mild winters, humid summers, and growing season spanning 260 days offer the ideal environment for growing various vegetables, herbs, and root crops.
Why should simple but necessary vegetables like garlic be left behind in the kitchen in this environment? It is a good chance to get organic and fresh bulbs, and that too at home, but the result entirely depends on when and how you plant according to your climate.
The decision of “when to plant garlic in Georgia” relies on two things;
- Where you live in Georgia (North, Central, South)
- Which garlic variety you are growing (hard-neck or soft-neck)
These things have a direct impact on the best planting time for garlic in Georgia. Because those two factors determine when you should plant! (here’s how) Let’s identify when to add garlic to Georgia’s garden.
Georgia and Best Garlic Varieties
Georgia’s climate is considered suitable for gardening due to long growing seasons that are distinct from north (180 days) to south (234 days). On the other hand, garlic, a cool-season perennial, has two main types— hard-neck and soft-neck, whose growth depends on the season.
(Here is the importance of planting perennial seeds at the right time)
- North to South Georgia USDA zones: 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a
- Georgia minimum temperature range: -15 to -3.9 Celcius
- Hard-neck minimum temperature tolerance: -35 Celcius
- Soft-neck minimum temperature tolerance: -5 Celcius
Hard-neck garlic (Purple stripe, Porcelain, Rocambole)
Hard-neck garlic demands cold exposure, called vernalization to produce healthy bulbs, therefore it is a well-suited variety for Eastnorth Georgia, where cold exposure is available naturally.
However, hard-neck is also ideal for central and Southern Georgia! Just you may be required to keep garlic cloves in the refrigerator before 6 to 8 weeks of planting.
Soft-neck garlic ( California Early, Silver screen, Artichoke)
Soft-neck garlic also needs vernalization but less than hard-neck garlic. It prefers mild to warm climates, and temperatures less than -5 Celcius can damage the overall garlic plant.
In Georgia, only the southern parts may offer a natural environment for soft-neck garlic. However, in north or central Georgia, you will have to plant soft-neck garlic in late winter to early spring.
Overall
Hard-neck can be grown in all parts of Georgia, but manual vernalization is necessary before planting in South Georgia (zone 9).
Soft-neck is also well-suited for the whole of Georgia, but in north and central parts (zone and 8), you should plant a bit late to protect from intense winter temperatures.
Apart from that, also explore how much time garlic takes to grow to choose the right variety that should have enough time to grow until harvest.
When to Plant Garlic in Georgia? Complete Analysis
Now, the best planting time for garlic is dependent on your choice and local area. Your chosen garlic variety and the frost dates of your local area make a slight difference in its planting time.
So, here I have analyzed through USDA planting zones, garlic growth performance, and frost dates of Georgia. I hope it will help you a lot in any way!
East North Georgia
- First Frost date: Mid-October to Early November
- Last Frost Date: Early to Late April
- USDA zone and minimum temperature range: 7b, -15C
- Cold exposure is available naturally for vernalization
- Hard-neck garlic: Plant from 15 September to 5 October
- Soft-neck garlic: Plant from 25 b October to 10 December or in February month
Top West to Central Georgia
- First Frost date: Late October to Mid-November
- Last Frost Date: Late March to Mid-April
- USDA zone and minimum temperature range: 8a and 8b, -12 to -6C
- Cold exposure is also available here naturally for vernalization
- Hard-neck garlic: Plant from 5 to 25 October
- Soft-neck garlic: Plant from 25 b October to 10 December
West, East, and Central South Georgia
- First Frost date: Late October to Mid-November
- Last Frost Date: Early to Late March
- USDA zone and minimum temperature range: 9a and 9b, -6 to -1C
- Cold exposure is also available here naturally for vernalization
- Hard-neck garlic: Plant from 1 October to 25 October
- Soft-neck garlic: Plant from 25 b October to 15 December or February
How to Grow Garlic in Georgia with Care and Maintenance
Actually, the growing method of any plant slightly adjusts to regional climate because specific environmental factors of any specific area highly affect plant growth positively and negatively, depending on the care and maintenance. (here’s how)
Regarding garlic, the steps to plant its cloves remain the same! However, care and maintenance can slightly change, such as planting depth varying on specific climates, planting place garlic variety, etc.
That’s why gardening knows how recommend to pant hard-neck garlic cloves 7 to 8 inches deep in warmer areas, like South Georgia. And if there is a soft neck, then you may minimize its depth, sowing cloves 4 to 5 inches deep!
To know more effectively, check out the complete guide on how deep and far to pant garlic cloves according to your situation!
Care and Maintenance of Garlic in Georgia
By the way, both garlic types can be grown in Georgia, including northern, central, and southern parts, but the recommendation is: East-northern gardeners should choose hard-neck, while southern farmers should grow soft-neck.
However, regarding exchange, you will be required to consider something;
- If planting hard-neck in south or central Georgia, keep its cloves at 0 to 3 Celcius in the refrigerator before 4 weeks of planting.
- If planting soft-neck garlic in north or central Georgia, you may need to delay until late winter or early spring.
Cutting Scapes of hard-neck Garlic
Garlic, especially hard-neck type, develops scapes in the spring, depending on the planting time. At this time, we have to cut these scapes to allow the plant to focus on making bulbs.
Otherwise, it starts to produce flowers to finish the growth cycle for the next generation, making it a perennial plant (here’s how). This escape development can not be possible after proper vernalization.
So, everything stops at the right planting time according to the regional climate and plant variety that we have discussed already regarding Georgia!😊
When to harvest Garic in Georgia
8 to 9 months are required for hard-neck garlic, while 6 to 7 months are necessary for soft-neck garlic to let them grow for harvest.
The harvesting time may change based on the provided growing conditions, including the right planting time.
As scapes appear on hard-neck garlic, after cutting them, you can harvest bulbs after 3 to 4 weeks, generally in the early to late summer.
On the other hand, soft-neck garlic usually does not produce scapes, maturing in late spring to early summer.
Still, you need to examine ideal growing conditions for garlic plants that are coming in detail within a few days on Garden Chains.
By that time, explore the above table, see the ideal growing conditions on Google, or get local advice!
