When to Plant Garlic in Illinois?
Garlic is one of the essential ingredients in many cuisines around the world, adding flavor and aroma to our dishes. In Illinois, garlic is a cool-season crop, which means that it thrives in mild temperatures. When to plant garlic in Illinois depends on several factors, including geographical location, soil type, and desired harvest time.
What is the Planting Time for Garlic?
The ideal time for planting garlic in Illinois generally falls within the late-summer to early-fall period, from early August to mid-September. This allows enough time for the garlic crops to establish themselves before they enter a dormant period during winter, followed by a surge of growth in the subsequent spring.
Why Earliest Spring Planting Didn’t Work?
Try as we might, fall planting isn’t the option for Illinois gardeners near the southern extremities of the state (around Southern Illinois and Cook County), where the season is more conducive to rapid growth. In these climates, spring planting might create an earlier harvest, but only. Spring planting can be advantageous for warmer regions, the Columbus-Hardin-Randolph zone, with average first-time frost dates around after September 15th (see below table) but it will lead to softer, smaller bulbs and ultimately lower yields.
| Southern Illinois | Last Frost Date: Last week of September |
| Cook County | Last Frost Date: Last week of September |
| Columbus area | First Frost Date around after September 10th |
| Main Illinois region | First Frost Date around after September 15th |
Additionally, for areas where we experience mild winters, say, near the Winnebago and its surrounding areas, fall bulbs may also produce scrawny results.
Before Planting Garlic in Early Fall:
Before attempting to plant garlic in illinois in early fall ensure that the soil needs to have cooled down further. You can try checking your soil temperature between 5:00 Am and 7:0 Am, which should still be between 40 (Fahrenheit) to above 45 (F°F) degrees Fahrenheit. Most importantly, the weather after planting will have a high chance of being suitable for germinations, thus ensuring healthy garlick growth.
For the Central and Northern Suburbs:
Even though spring planting provides an advantage for both yields and bulb size., Northern Illinois and sub-urbs, consider the timing for the very last frosts of which are predicted around Sept 30th to approximately October 15th by your weather service.. You have the opportunity; you can prepare the area, allow the bulbs to chill with a consistent 35(Fahrenheit) to +40 degrees Fahrenheit water and some shade around 60-90 (**60, 70***), this can take approx. 8-10 WEEKS and after the bulb’s development has finished make sure your area gets partial sun as it can mature better than under shade.
Spring Planting’s Limitations:
Should you prefer spring planting options, as a precaution set your plants about inches to 4 ((1) to 24 cm (0.78 in)), as well-rotted compost will lead to faster growth and in case, your sprouts don’t come straight up and don’t do it before (for your first crop), if your clove (one clove) isn ‘t split and if more than a single spr out comes to grow (some plants with more than several cloves or the other parts), plant it and try not to water them because the sprout might get less chance.
Some Notes:
• In Chicago and parts of Northern region, try planting your scapes to create more seeds.
• Plant the bigger bulbs that have the fewest scapes (growth tips on the bulb bottom) which is generally accepted to improve yields.
Finally, take care to split your larger bulbs in their growth; for even more sprouts and smaller, uniform bulbs.