Elephant garlic · Köln, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
When to plant elephant garlic in Köln
Main outdoor window
29 Sep - 13 Oct
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
17 April
In Köln, 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 Köln
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
29 Sep - 13 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 Köln
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 Köln instead of forwards from its start.
The median frost-free season here is 207 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.
Nearby
Elephant garlic in places close by
Also in Köln
Other vegetables to time
Growing elephant garlic in Köln
When should I plant elephant garlic in Köln?
Aim for 29 Sep - 13 Oct in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 5-19 Sep - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will elephant garlic be ready to harvest in Köln?
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.