Garlic yields best when it is planted in the fall and has time to achieve some root growth before winter. Historically, planting around the date of the first fall frost has been hypothesized as being the best time to plant to reduce the chance of winterkill and get good root establishment before the ground freezes.
The ability to plant weeks before the first fall frost would give a longer window for planting, which is an advantage when there is a large acreage to plant or in fields that have heavier soil and take time to dry before mechanical planters can be used.
The concern with planting too early is that the plant emerges and produces multiple leaves before the ground freezes. These leaves may die from extreme temperatures and leave the clove with little resources to put a new sprout up in the spring. Without enough energy to push new leaves to the surface in the spring, the plant dies. |READ MORE
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