Louisiana garlic planting
When to plant garlic in Louisiana
Louisiana plants softneck garlic from October into November and lifts it in late spring. The date is a wide band, so the decision that changes the crop is the type: Creole for flavour, Italian for storage, elephant garlic because it is a leek that grows well here.
Plant garlic in Louisiana from October into November for a late-spring harvest. The Gulf winter is long enough for the crop, so the date is a wide band rather than a week. What changes the result is the type. Softneck garlics are what grow here, and the choice between Creole, Italian, silverskin and elephant garlic is a choice about flavour and how long the bulbs keep.
Last updated 2026-10-26
The southern types
Creole, Italian, silverskin or elephant
Louisiana grows softneck garlic, and the state's pages sort the types by flavour and by how long they keep. That trade is the decision the date cannot make for you.
| Type | Flavour | Keeps | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elephant or Tahiti | Mild | Well | Large, dark cloves on a vigorous plant. It is a leek rather than a true garlic, and LSU says it grows well in Louisiana. |
| Creole | Moderate | Poorly | White cloves of medium size. LSU's garden page says Creole does not store well, so plant it for the kitchen rather than the shelf. |
| Italian | Strong | Best | Small pink-skinned cloves. The strongest flavour of the three and the longest keeper, which is why the two are usually grown together. |
| Silverskin | Medium | Well | A white softneck with a medium-large head. LSU also lists California Early and New York White Neck as softnecks that can be grown. |
The season
October to a spring harvest
210 to 230 days
from planting to harvest
October and November
Plant the cloves
Set cloves vertically, root end down, with the top just below the soil surface and five to six inches between them. Water the bed the next day.
LSU AgCenter, Garlic in the Garden.
December to early March
Feed and keep the weeds down
Side-dress when the shoots emerge, again in late winter and once more in mid-spring. Thrips are the insect to watch, and they show first as a greying of the spring foliage.
LSU AgCenter, Garlic in the Garden.
Late April to June
Lift the bulbs
Harvest when about a third of the plants yellow, or when the leaves turn. Leaving them longer splits the heads in the ground. The parish guides put the crop at 210 to 230 days and LSU's timing piece at seven to eight months.
LSU AgCenter, Garlic in the Garden; Livingston Parish, Growing Garlic; Plant at the Right Time to Grow Garlic and Bulb Onions.
A strange harvest
Why some bulbs come up solid
Some bulbs make small offset corms against the lower side. Planted, a corm grows a solid bulb with no cloves, like an onion, and that solid bulb replanted the next fall produces a cloved head a year later.
A solid bulb is still usable in the kitchen. The point of knowing the sequence is that a strange-looking harvest is not a failed one, because it is the second year of a two-year cycle.
Build high rows or raised beds where drainage is poor. LSU's garden page plants five to six inches apart in single drills, or double drills a foot apart, and waters the bed the next day.
Depth is the one figure the parish publications disagree on. The garden page sets the top of the clove just below the surface, the allium publication presses cloves one to one and a half inches deep, and the Livingston column plants one to four inches deep, or about twice the clove's diameter.
Keep the seed garlic whole until planting day, and break the bulb apart just before the cloves go in. LSU says early separation costs yield, and the same advice appears in every state's guidance.
Drainage, spacing and the first depth from LSU's garden page; the other two depths from Allium Crops (Publication 2318) and the Livingston Parish column.
Questions about garlic in Louisiana
The October window, the southern types, solid bulbs and the spring harvest.
When do you plant garlic in Louisiana?
From October into November for a late-spring harvest. Some parish guidance starts in late September and runs to the end of November, and LSU's timing piece gives seven to eight months from planting to harvest.
Which garlic grows best in Louisiana?
Softneck. LSU names Creole, Italian and silverskin, and adds elephant garlic, which is a leek and grows well in the state. Hardneck needs more cold than the Gulf winter gives.
Why did my garlic make one solid bulb with no cloves?
It grew from a corm rather than a clove. LSU says corms produce a solid bulb the first year, and that bulb replanted the next fall produces a cloved head. The solid bulb is still good to eat.
How long does garlic take in Louisiana?
About 210 to 230 days, or seven to eight months. Planted in October, that puts harvest in late April to June, and the bulbs are ready when about a third of the plants have yellowed.
How deep do you plant garlic in Louisiana?
The state's publications give three depths: just below the surface, one to one and a half inches, and one to four inches. The shallowest is the garden page; the deepest is the Livingston Parish column.
Can I plant garlic from the grocery store in Louisiana?
LSU allows it only as a last resort, and only whole heads, because grocery garlic may be treated to stop sprouting or carry a virus. Certified seed stock from a supplier is the better start.
LSU AgCenter's garden page, allium publication and two parish columns.
Other garlic growing guides
Compare the Texas county calendars or the Florida chilling step.
Guide
When to Plant Garlic
Plant garlic in the fall once soil has cooled to about 50°F, commonly one to three weeks after the first killing frost and four to six weeks before the ground freezes.
Topic
Garlic Growing Guides
How to plant and grow garlic at home, and the state and regional windows that decide when your cloves go in.
Guide
When to plant garlic in Texas
Local fall planting dates and variety choices for mild Texas winters.
Guide
When to plant garlic in Florida
Florida garlic dates, the chilling step, and the types that form bulbs in a warm winter.