Elephant garlic · Seoul, Seoul, South Korea
When to plant elephant garlic in Seoul
Main outdoor window
1-15 Oct
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
3 April
In Seoul, 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 Seoul
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
1-15 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 Seoul
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 Seoul 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.
Nearby
Elephant garlic in places close by
Also in Seoul
Other vegetables to time
Growing elephant garlic in Seoul
When should I plant elephant garlic in Seoul?
Aim for 1-15 Oct in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 19 Sep - 3 Oct - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will elephant garlic be ready to harvest in Seoul?
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.