Spring and fall are different calculations
Start with your local frost date
Texas is too large for one planting day. Spring timing is measured from the local average frost-free date. Fall timing is measured backward from the local first freeze, then checked against the Texas A&M regional anchor when one is published.
Spring rule
Routine spring planting not recommended
Use the frost-free date for your garden, not a statewide average.Fall rule
4–6 weeks before the first freeze
Count backward from the local first freeze and leave room for establishment.Texas A&M gardening regions
Dates by region
Texas A&M divides the state into five gardening regions. The dates below are planning anchors, not boundaries that follow county lines and not promises about one exact garden.
Region I
Fall month: July
Northern PanhandleRegion II
Fall month: August
West Texas and the High PlainsRegion III
Fall month: October
North, East and Central TexasRegion IV
Fall month: November
South TexasRegion V
Fall month: December
Lower Rio Grande ValleyPlant only when the crop is ready
The calendar is the first filter
A date can be inside the planning range and still be a poor planting day. Check the crop-specific conditions before committing seed or plants.
- A true fall establishment period remains before hard cold.
- The bed drains and will not hold water around cloves.
- Planting stock is sound and suited to the region.
Method changes timing
How to start garlic
Separate healthy cloves near planting time and place them in a prepared, well-drained bed; do not treat garlic like seed-grown leafy vegetables.
Use cloves, not botanical seed
The timing and spacing guidance is built around clove planting.
Choose the regional month
Texas A&M publishes a month-level anchor because the useful fall period shifts dramatically across the state.
Keep drainage in the decision
Do not plant into a saturated bed simply because the month has arrived.
When the simple answer breaks
Too early or too late?
Check your options if you missed the planting window or the weather is not ready.
The first freeze is late
Do not import a northern date
South Texas and the Lower Rio Grande Valley need their own fall timing rather than a Panhandle schedule.Spring planting is proposed
Treat it as an exception
The statewide home guide does not recommend routine spring garlic planting; use county advice before departing from fall.Growing notes
Month-level precision is intentional
The official regional fall guide publishes months for garlic, not exact days. Turning “November” into a specific date would create precision the source does not support.