One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant garlic in Columbia should be figured out by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Garlic

Frost tolerance for garlic:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Garlic are very cold tolerant which tells us that you can plant them much earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant garlic in Columbia is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant garlic and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your garlic may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your garlic indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Columbia. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Columbia and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Columbia there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to cover your garlic in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Columbia

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Columbia

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Columbia.