Columbus Day.
My resolution this year is to spend more time preparing the soil - I'm going to dig a foot deep trench and mix in plenty of compost. And mulch after it's planted.

Garlic is pretty forgiving of planting dates. I usually aim for Columbus Day also but I've planted from mid-September until almost November with good results. The goal on fall planting is to get the garlic in and some roots well established prior to the ground freezing. This will help keep them in the ground in spring during the freeze / thaw cycles.

I stick mine in anytime from late September to November. As long as you can dig a few inches into the ground. I don't grow a lot but maybe 25-30 plants.

Tom

25 - 30 sounds pretty good to me. What're some of your favorite varieties?

I don't have faves, a friend gave me a bulb or 2 5 years ago and I have no idea what it was. I'm still growing from that same bulb! They aren't the really big type, maybe 2-3 inches in diameter...

Tom

You can ask at the local farm stand about good locally-grown varieties and just plant that, or order online.

I went to the garlic festival on Saturday and planted my garlic on Sunday -- had the bed prepped and ready :-)

We prefer the stiff necked varieties - this year I planted six heads of the German Stiffneck variety -- that's about 45-50 cloves in a 3x5 raised box bed.

Next weekend I plan to cover the bed with straw before the ground freezes. We've already had several white frosts which zapped all the tender plants -- beans and squash, etc, so now cleanup can begin. Potatoes have been dug, as well as carrots and beets -- they have been transferred to the root cellar. Parsnips are still in the ground -- they will also be covered with straw, to be enjoyed as the very first spring veggie! They are sooooo superior in taste after their winter of hibernation!

Enjoy