Garlic planting in zones 6 to 7: one bed plan, from frost date to June

Look up your first fall frost

Type your zip code into the frost date lookup and write down two dates: the 1 in 10 earlier first fall frost and the typical one. For zip code 16801 in State College, Pennsylvania, that's October 10 and October 26.

Have ready: Your zip code. Do it in September, before the seed garlic arrives.

Frost date lookup by zip code

Source: NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals, annual/seasonal, checked October 7, 2026.

Set your planting week

Start from mid-October, which is the Mid-Atlantic guide's time for central Pennsylvania. If your typical first frost is a week or more earlier than State College's October 26, move up to 10 days earlier. A week or more later, you can plant up to 3 weeks later. The week-or-more threshold is our rule of thumb, not the guide's.

Have ready: The two frost dates from step 1 and a calendar.

Source: Mid-Atlantic Commercial Vegetable Production Recommendations, F. Garlic, checked October 8, 2026; NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals, annual/seasonal, checked October 7, 2026.

Measure the bed and count the cloves

Measure inside the boards and type the size into the garlic calculator. At 6 inches each way, a 4 x 8 ft bed takes 8 rows of 16: 128 cloves.

Have ready: A tape measure.

Garlic and bulb planting calculator

Source: University of Kentucky Extension, October is garlic planting time, checked October 8, 2026.

Order heads or pounds

Kentucky counts six to eight cloves a head, so 128 cloves is 16 to 22 heads. Maryland counts 6 to 7 large hardneck heads a pound with 6 to 7 cloves each, so plan on about 2.6 to 3.6 pounds.

Have ready: The clove count. If a seller lists cloves per head for the variety, use that number.

Source: University of Kentucky Extension, October is garlic planting time, checked October 8, 2026; University of Maryland Extension, Garlic, checked October 8, 2026.

Split the heads on planting day

Don't break heads apart until just before planting, as Illinois Extension advises. Plant the biggest cloves: Maryland says large cloves grow larger bulbs. Set the smallest ones aside for the kitchen.

Have ready: A bowl for the planting cloves and another for the small ones.

Source: Illinois Extension, Garden Scoop: fall garlic planting, checked October 8, 2026; University of Maryland Extension, Garlic, checked October 8, 2026.

Plant 2 inches deep, 6 inches apart

Push each clove about 2 inches into the soil, pointed end up, 6 inches from its neighbors. Start half a spacing, 3 inches, in from the boards so the outer rows fit.

Have ready: A ruler or a stick marked at 2 and 6 inches.

Source: University of Kentucky Extension, October is garlic planting time, checked October 8, 2026.

Mulch the same day

Cover the bed with shredded leaves or straw, as Kentucky suggests. Iowa State uses a 4 to 6 inch layer of straw and moves it between the rows in early spring.

Have ready: The mulch, already sitting next to the bed.

Source: University of Kentucky Extension, October is garlic planting time, checked October 8, 2026; Iowa State Extension, When should I plant garlic?, checked October 8, 2026.

Write it down, then harvest in June

On the planting map or the log below, note the variety, the planting date and the clove count. Kentucky says harvest usually comes in June. Add that date too, and next fall you'll know whether to plant earlier or later.

Have ready: The printed bed plan, kept with the seed box.

Source: University of Kentucky Extension, October is garlic planting time, checked October 8, 2026.