Two official ranges
Use the crop guide first; treat the fall table as a narrower option
The sources frame garlic differently. October is the clean overlap, while the late-September-through-November range answers the statewide crop question most directly.
Primary crop-specific range
Late September – November
Use this as the statewide public answer because it comes from UGA’s garlic-specific guide.Earlier fall-table range
September 1 – October 1
This is a supporting fall-garden range, not a replacement for the crop-specific guidance.September 1 to late September
An early local option
UGA’s fall table includes this period, but the garlic guide does not open until late September. Treat it as a local exception, not the statewide default.October
The strongest overlap
Both UGA references support October, and the garlic guide notes that plants can root well before winter.November
Still inside the crop guide
The garlic-specific publication keeps the range open through November even though the fall table stops earlier.Spring
Do not substitute a spring date
UGA says the growing period becomes too short for satisfactory yields once heat arrives during bulbing and maturity.What location changes
Depth and cultivar change before the published date does
UGA does not publish separate North, Middle and South planting windows for garlic. These are the supported location decisions.
Colder Georgia sites
Keep the statewide fall range. Plant slightly deeper and use mulch for winter protection.
Most Georgia gardens
Use late September through November, with October as the simplest planning target.
Warmer southern sites
The source does not publish a later regional date. Soft-neck types fit the southern climate better than most hard-neck types.
Before you open the bulb
Make sure the bed can carry an eight-month crop
Garlic occupies the space from fall into early summer, so bed choice matters before the first clove goes in.
- The bed has full sun, good drainage and enough space to remain undisturbed for up to 8 months.
- Onions or another allium did not occupy the same bed in the previous rotation.
- You have large, smooth, disease-free outer cloves from a sound bulb.
- The planting date follows a supported fall range rather than a spring shortcut.
Clove setup
Plant one sound clove at a time
Separate cloves at planting time
Keep the bulb intact until you are ready; early separation can reduce yield.
Set the point upward
Plant each unpeeled clove with the pointed end up and the stem scar down.
Use the supported spacing
Plant 1–3 inches deep and 6 inches apart, with rows 12–14 inches apart. Colder sites may go slightly deeper.
Water after planting
Thorough watering establishes the cloves during a normally dry part of Georgia’s year.
Why fall matters
Cold weeks build the bulb you harvest next summer
Garlic needs 6–8 weeks below 40°F for vernalization, then longer spring days help form the bulb. Harvest varies by location from late May to mid-July; lift bulbs when roughly one-third to one-half of the leaves have died back.