Planting garlic in zone 5 before the ground freezes

Plant garlic in zone 5 from mid-September to early November, aiming for October. The cloves need a few weeks in the ground to grow roots before it freezes, then a full winter of cold to form a proper bulb.

Zone 5’s first fall frost usually comes around mid-October. A good rule is to plant within a week or two either side of that. The ground usually stays workable for several weeks after the first frost.

Why fall, not spring

Garlic splits into cloves after a long cold spell. Planted in fall, it grows roots, sits through winter at near-freezing temperatures, and comes into spring ready to grow fast. That gives the biggest bulbs.

You can plant from mid-February to late March once the soil thaws, and still get a crop. The bulbs will usually be smaller, and some may not divide at all.

Choosing garlic

Buy seed garlic from a garden center or a seed company, not the grocery store. Grocery garlic is often a softneck variety grown in a mild climate, it may carry disease, and some is treated to stop it sprouting.

For zone 5, hardneck garlic is the safer bet. It’s very cold-hardy, has fewer but larger cloves that are easy to peel, and sends up a curly flower stalk called a scape in early summer. Music is a widely sold hardneck that does well in cold areas. Softneck types will grow too, but they’re better suited to milder winters.

How to plant

1. Pick a sunny spot with well-drained soil and dig in some compost. Garlic hates sitting in wet soil over winter.
2. Break the bulb into cloves just before planting. Plant the biggest ones and eat the small ones.
3. Push each clove in pointed end up, about 1 inch deep below the soil surface.
4. Space cloves 6 inches apart in rows 12 inches apart, or nine to a square in square foot gardening.
5. Water once if the soil is dry.

Mulch for winter

Garlic is hardy to about 5 °F without help, and zone 5 winters regularly go lower than that. A mulch protects the cloves and stops the soil heaving as it freezes and thaws.

Once the ground starts to freeze, cover the bed with 4 to 6 inches of straw or shredded leaves. In spring, when the shoots come up, pull most of it back so the soil warms, and leave a thin layer to hold in moisture and keep weeds down.

Spring and summer care

Garlic hates competition, so keep the bed weeded. Water in dry spells through May and June, while the bulbs are swelling, then stop watering about two weeks before harvest.

Hardneck garlic sends up scapes in June. Cut them off once they curl, so the plant puts its energy into the bulb. They’re good in stir-fries and pesto.

Carrots, beets, tomatoes and strawberries grow well near garlic. Keep it away from peas and beans.

When to harvest

Zone 5 garlic is usually ready from late June to late August, most often in July. Lift it when about half the leaves have turned brown. Each green leaf is a layer of wrapper around the bulb, so waiting too long leaves bulbs that split open and don’t store.

Loosen the soil with a fork and lift the bulbs carefully. Hang them in bunches, or lay them out somewhere dry, shady and airy for two to three weeks to cure. Then trim the roots and stalks and store them somewhere cool and dry.

Save a few of your biggest bulbs to plant again in October.

Choose zone 5 on the garlic page to see the planting and harvest windows on one chart.