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
Regional planning anchors
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
Early and late decisions
A usable planting page needs an action when weather, region or maturity no longer fits the headline range.
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.Why this answer is shaped this way
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.