Elephant garlic · Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China
When to plant elephant garlic in Shijiazhuang
Main outdoor window
28 Sep - 12 Oct
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
31 March
In Shijiazhuang, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
1 Jul - 31 Aug
If you plant at the start of the window.
The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.
Step by step in Shijiazhuang
Each window is a range, not a single day. Earlier in the range buys you a longer season; later in it buys you a safer one.
Plant cloves
28 Sep - 12 Oct
Four to six weeks before your first frost, so roots form before the ground cools.
Harvest
1 Jul - 31 Aug
Elephant garlic through the year
Against the frost risk in Shijiazhuang
Why these dates
Plant cloves four to six weeks before the first autumn frost so roots form before the ground cools. It needs a cold period to divide properly.
Hardy to about -15C. Autumn planting is not optional - a spring-planted clove usually makes one large round rather than a head of cloves.
Elephant garlic are anchored to the first autumn frost rather than the last spring one, so the planting window on this page counts backwards from the end of the season in Shijiazhuang instead of forwards from its start.
The median frost-free season here is 223 days, against 240 to 270 days to maturity for this crop counted from sowing. That margin is what decides whether a late sowing is worth attempting.
Also in Shijiazhuang
Other vegetables to time
Growing elephant garlic in Shijiazhuang
When should I plant elephant garlic in Shijiazhuang?
Aim for 28 Sep - 12 Oct in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 17 Sep - 1 Oct - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will elephant garlic be ready to harvest in Shijiazhuang?
Expect to start picking around 1 Jul - 31 Aug, based on 240 to 270 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.
How much frost will elephant garlic tolerate?
Hardy to about -15C. Autumn planting is not optional - a spring-planted clove usually makes one large round rather than a head of cloves.