PlantLegitWhen to plant garlic in VA, MD, DE, NC, SC, GA, TN and WV
Sources (10)
- VCE 426-331 – Virginia Cooperative Extension
- University of Maryland Extension: Growing Garlic in a Home Garden
- University of Delaware Weekly Crop Update, Gordon Johnson, Sept. 10, 2021 – sites.udel.edu
- NC State Extension AG-756-01 – content.ces.ncsu.edu
- Clemson HGIC: Planning a Garden – hgic.clemson.edu
- UGA Extension C 854: Garlic Production for the Gardener – fieldreport.caes.uga.edu
- UT Extension D 75: Garlic for the Tennessee Vegetable Garden – uthort.tennessee.edu
- WVU Extension: Growing Garlic – extension.wvu.edu
- Clemson HGIC: This Month in Your Garden, October 2026 – hgic.clemson.edu
- Clemson HGIC 1314: Onion, Leek, Shallot & Garlic – hgic.clemson.edu
Short answer: Plant garlic in the fall, not spring. Across these eight states, Extension windows run from September (Virginia zones 6a–6b, East Tennessee) to November (coastal Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia, Delmarva). In Virginia zones 8a–8b, central North Carolina, coastal South Carolina and Georgia, late October falls inside the Extension window.Each state’s date is quoted from its land-grant Extension service below.
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Checked October 17, 2026. Dates are Extension guidance and vary with weather and elevation.
Garlic planting dates by state
| State | When to plant (Extension wording) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Virginia | Zones 6a–6b: Sept 1-Oct 1; 7a–7b: Oct 1-Oct 30; 8a–8b: Oct 15-Nov 15 | VCE 426-331 |
| Maryland | “Plant individual cloves mid-late October” | University of Maryland Extension: Growing Garlic in a Home Garden |
| Delaware | “Garlic cloves should be planted in early November on Delmarva” (commercial growing guidance) | University of Delaware Weekly Crop Update, Gordon Johnson, Sept. 10, 2021 |
| North Carolina | Central NC calendar: Sep 15 through Nov 15 | NC State Extension AG-756-01 |
| South Carolina | Coastal Plain: Oct 1 to Nov 30; Piedmont: Aug 15 to Oct 15 | Clemson HGIC: Planning a Garden |
| Georgia | “Late September through November is the time to plant garlic in Georgia” | UGA Extension C 854: Garlic Production for the Gardener |
| Tennessee | East TN: Sept. 1–Nov. 1; West TN: Sept. 15–Nov. 15 | UT Extension D 75: Garlic for the Tennessee Vegetable Garden |
| West Virginia | “Typically planted in the fall one or two weeks after the first killing frost” | WVU Extension: Growing Garlic |
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Get a plan for my backyardTips the Extension services agree on
- Don’t plant grocery-store garlic. UMD: “Never plant garlic from a grocery store. It may be a symptomless disease carrier.” WVU: avoid it “since they are sprayed to suppress growth.” (UMD, WVU)
- Big cloves, big bulbs. “Large cloves produce larger bulbs than small cloves” (UMD); Clemson and UGA say to plant the larger outer cloves. (UMD, Clemson HGIC 1314, UGA C 854)
- Pointy end up. UGA: place the clove “with the pointed side up”; WVU: “flat side down and the pointy side up at 1 to 3 inches depth.” (UGA, WVU)
- Softneck in the warm South. Clemson’s October 2026 tips: choose softneck garlic for South Carolina’s mild winters. UT: Tennessee is transitional, so try both hardneck and softneck. (Clemson, UT D 75)
- Drainage matters. UT suggests raised beds where drainage is moderate to poor, because Tennessee winters are often wet. (UT D 75)
Everything else to plant this month
Virginia · North Carolina · South Carolina · All planting calendars