I'm in Montreal, and I usually plant mine around the second or third week of October. I plant hardneck - I assume softneck gets planted at the same time...

BP

It should be before freeze up. If planted early it has too much top growth. The goal is to give garlic time to develop roots.

As long as the soil is workable, garlic can be planted right through November.

I planted a few varieties during the first significant snowfall last year. While not ideal, it worked. I'm aiming for mid-October this year.

What type of hardneck do you plant? Has anyone planted garlic from teh grocery store or farmer's market? I know some of them may be treated with an anti-sprout chemical, but not all.