When to Plant Garlic in Tennessee

Fall Planting

• Fall planting is ideal for most types of garlic. Garlic can be planted in Tennessee around mid-October, or one month before the ground freezes. This allows time for the bulbs to root, begin to sprout and go dormant for the winter. New growth will continue when the ground thaws.

Spring Planting

• Garlic also may be planted in the spring, though this produces smaller bulbs. For spring planting, separate the cloves from the large bulbs shortly before planting, and plant when the soil no longer is frozen. In southern Tennessee, this may be quite early in the year.

Varieties

• Garlic comes in several different varieties, all of which can be grown in Tennessee. Hardneck garlic is notable for its strong flavor. It produces delicious scapes. Softneck garlic prefers warmer regions and produces no scapes, but the bulbs can easily be braided together. Elephant garlic is very mild and large, and does best in warm parts of the state.