Is it too Late to Plant Garlic in Southern Ontario?
Suddenly December is upon us and yet your garlic is still not planted. You panic. “Is it too late to plant it? Have I missed the chance to get a garlic harvest next summer?!”
Music Garlic
Is it too late to plant my garlic in Southern Ontario?
Every year, the final cut off looks different but I won’t keep you waiting:
If you can still dig the soil, you can still plant your garlic cloves.
Usually, even if we’ve had freezing temperatures, only the surface of the soil will be frozen. If covered in leaves, wood chips or another form of mulch, it might only be the mulch that has frozen.
In Southern Ontario the date of when the soil freezes too solid and you’ve missed your window can be anywhere from end of November to January. Usually though, assuming we haven’t received much snow, mid December is your last chance.
My preferred time to plant (I’m in Durham Region, hardiness zone 5b/6a) is the first week of November. It’s past most, if not all the possible “Indian Summer” mild days, so your garlic won’t waste energy sprouting this fall. However it’s still mild enough so that it’s not a miserable experience for the person planting.
Some years we get flurries mid October, other years we’re popping outside to harvest fresh herbs in t-shirts for Christmas. Our Autumn weather can vary widely in Southern Ontario which is why picking a specific calendar date as a cut off does not work.
One problem I’m finding by planting in November, is that big box stores, nurseries etc have already completely transitioned out of the gardening season and into holiday decor. If you are seeking amendments such as sheep manure, chicken poop pellets etc, or mulch such as straw bales, they have all been packed away. Even hand tools are no longer available. This wasn’t the case 2-3 years ago but this year (2024) and last it has been tricky finding products due to the push to get Christmas products out sooner.
Odds are if you’re reading this it’s because you did not plan ahead and did not ensure you had all the materials you might need ahead of time, to get your garlic planted in the ideal fashion. The priority at this point is just getting your garlic cloves in the ground. You can fertilize in the spring. Leaves make a great mulch (and are free!). And arguably, mulch isn’t needed for a good harvest in our growing climate. I’ve mulched and I have left the soil bare over the years and I really haven’t noticed much difference.
My ground has frozen already, can I plant my garlic in pots?
You can but I wouldn’t. Not unless they were really big pots and you only plant right in the middle; because of freeze-thaw cycles
Over the years I’ve experimented with planting garlic in the ground, in raised beds, in barrel planters, 60 gallon grow-bag (fabric) planters and plastic pots.
The ground and (low) raised beds do the best. With the container options, the garlic tends to “disappear”. It disintegrates and turns to mush due to the freeze-thaw cycles that winter in Southern Ontario is known for. I’ve had some survivors but I’d rather eat my garlic then have it “fertilize” my pots.
So hop to it my little garlic planting procrastinators! There is still time (as of publishing) to get your garlic cloves into the ground and secure yourself a bountiful harvest next summer.
P.S. This advice applies to all bulbs (tulips, daffodils, alliums, hyacinths, muscari etc) and not just garlic! So if you have some of those still in a to do list and not in the ground, let’s get it done!!
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