Garlic doesn't mind our dreary weather at all
The District of Columbia is in the grip of a weather system that has perpetrated days on end of miserable, drizzly rain and temperatures 20 degrees below normal. The earth is soaked. Flood watches have been issued. We huddle indoors and drink hot tea.
Meanwhile, our garlic is undeterred. Little does it know that months of winter cold and ice lie ahead. It is merrily sprouting and sending up new shoots of green, reaching for next spring and beyond. We take heart from our garlic. Push on, push on. We will be eating you in July.
We are engaging the concerns of a hungry planet--slowly--right here in our kitchen garden in the District of Columbia, about a mile from the White House.
does it matter *when* you plant garlic, or is it simply a specified time needed for maturity?
Garlic needs lots of time to grow and likes coolness. Planting in the fall gives it a good start. Garlic can also be planted after the winter thaw, but your chances of getting big, beautiful heads diminishes.