Elephant garlic · Mexico City, Mexico City, Mexico
When to plant elephant garlic in Mexico City
Main outdoor window
6-20 Oct
A climate estimate. Check your soil, forecast and cultivar.
Timed from last spring frost
9 February
In Mexico City, 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 Mexico City
Download these planting dates (.ics)
Import into Apple Calendar, Google Calendar or Outlook. Dates use the selected risk level and are planning estimates, not frost alerts.
Each window is a planning range. Check the forecast, soil and cultivar before planting; a later date is not automatically safer in hot or wet conditions.
Plant cloves
6-20 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 Mexico City
Seasonal context
Rainfall and the growing season in Mexico City
July has the highest average precipitation (156 mm); December has the lowest (6 mm). Compare this pattern with the planting windows and your water supply.
During wetter months, check that beds and containers drain after heavy rain. During drier months, plan how you will keep seeds and new transplants watered. Monthly averages can hide long dry spells and intense storms; they do not show soil moisture, humidity or this week's weather.
Source: NASA POWER, corrected MERRA-2 precipitation, 2001–2020. Values are approximate monthly totals, including the water equivalent of snow, from the nearest 0.5° × 0.625° grid cell. This reference period differs from the temperature record. Rainfall provides context and does not change the calculated planting dates. Method and limitations.
Monthly growing conditions in Mexico City
Compare the planting window with the local temperature pattern. These are historical monthly averages, not this year's forecast or measured soil temperatures. Average frost days do not tell you whether a particular night will freeze.
| Month | Average low | Average high | Frost days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4°C (39.3°F)39.3°F (4°C) | 19.3°C (66.7°F)66.7°F (19.3°C) | 1.3 |
| February | 5°C (41°F)41°F (5°C) | 21.7°C (71°F)71°F (21.7°C) | 0.7 |
| March | 6.5°C (43.6°F)43.6°F (6.5°C) | 24°C (75.2°F)75.2°F (24°C) | 0.2 |
| April | 8.6°C (47.4°F)47.4°F (8.6°C) | 25.9°C (78.6°F)78.6°F (25.9°C) | 0.0 |
| May | 10.1°C (50.2°F)50.2°F (10.1°C) | 26°C (78.8°F)78.8°F (26°C) | 0.0 |
| June | 10.5°C (51°F)51°F (10.5°C) | 23.5°C (74.4°F)74.4°F (23.5°C) | 0.0 |
| July | 10°C (50.1°F)50.1°F (10°C) | 21.5°C (70.8°F)70.8°F (21.5°C) | 0.0 |
| August | 10°C (49.9°F)49.9°F (10°C) | 21.1°C (70.1°F)70.1°F (21.1°C) | 0.0 |
| September | 9.7°C (49.4°F)49.4°F (9.7°C) | 20.3°C (68.5°F)68.5°F (20.3°C) | 0.0 |
| October | 7.8°C (46.1°F)46.1°F (7.8°C) | 20°C (68°F)68°F (20°C) | 0.3 |
| November | 5.9°C (42.6°F)42.6°F (5.9°C) | 19.6°C (67.3°F)67.3°F (19.6°C) | 0.8 |
| December | 4.6°C (40.4°F)40.4°F (4.6°C) | 19.2°C (66.6°F)66.6°F (19.2°C) | 0.8 |
For elephant garlic, also check drainage, sunlight and cultivar requirements. See the rainfall context above; humidity, irrigation and local pest pressure are not calculated.
Local growing check
Before choosing elephant garlic for Mexico City
- July is the wettest month in the rainfall grid, averaging about 156 mm. Check how your own bed drains and plan watering around actual soil moisture; monthly rain totals are not an irrigation schedule.
The temperature and rainfall tables on this page show the underlying climate estimates. How these suitability checks work · Record what happens in your garden.
Before you plant elephant garlic
Use the calendar to plan ahead, then check the conditions in your own garden.
- Frost tolerance does not make saturated or frozen soil suitable for planting. Wait until the bed can be worked without smearing or compacting it.
- Use the maturity range on your seed packet when choosing a variety. Cold, short days and transplant stress can make harvest later than the calendar estimate.
Treat elephant garlic as a leek relative with large cloves
Use healthy cloves in a sunny, drained bed, allowing more space than for small garlic bulbs. Avoid a persistently wet site, and check for allium pests or disease rather than replanting repeatedly in a troubled patch.
Watch the plant's seasonal development and inspect bulbs when foliage begins to decline. Lift carefully and dry sound bulbs appropriately for storage. Compare the resulting cloves with your actual kitchen needs instead of judging success only by impressive top growth.
What to record this season
Did large sound cloves develop, and did they store without softening or rot? Add the cultivar, sowing date and conditions to your growing record so you can compare next season.
Further reading: NC State Extension: Allium ampeloprasum . General crop guidance; local dates on this site are calculated separately. Source checked 19 September 2026 by Safe to Plant; this is not an expert review.
The reference describes plant identity and cultivation. Its regional calendar months and hardiness observations do not validate the calculated dates for another location.
How the dates are calculated and their limits · Keep a growing record · Report a local discrepancy
Why these dates
Use healthy cloves in a sunny, drained bed, allowing more space than for small garlic bulbs. Avoid a persistently wet site, and check for allium pests or disease rather than replanting repeatedly in a troubled patch.
Check the named variety and local forecast before exposing young growth. The catalog cold-damage figure is a reference, not a guarantee: plant age, acclimatisation, wind and the duration of a freeze affect damage.
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 Mexico City instead of forwards from its start.
The median frost-free season here is 281 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 Mexico City
Other vegetables to time
Growing elephant garlic in Mexico City
Can I grow elephant garlic in Mexico City?
The calendar estimates a planting window, not a guarantee of success. July is the wettest month in the rainfall grid, averaging about 156 mm. Check how your own bed drains and plan watering around actual soil moisture; monthly rain totals are not an irrigation schedule.
When should I plant elephant garlic in Mexico City?
Aim for 6-20 Oct in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 13-27 Sep - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When might elephant garlic be ready to harvest in Mexico City?
The estimated period is 1 Jul - 31 Aug, based on 240 to 270 days from the modeled planting date. Cultivar, planting material and growing conditions can change this interval; check the plant as well as the calendar.
How much frost will elephant garlic tolerate?
Check the named variety and local forecast before exposing young growth. The catalog cold-damage figure is a reference, not a guarantee: plant age, acclimatisation, wind and the duration of a freeze affect damage.