When to plant garlic in Bern: 4 October – 21 December

In Bern, garlic: plant from 4 October to about 21 December. For planting stock, the places nearby include Wyss GartenLaden (garden centre, 1 km) and Gärtnerei Schneider (garden centre, 14 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Garlic is best planted early in the window: cloves planted late make smaller bulbs. Late planting works only while the soil is not frozen. Mulch after planting.

The date is about two weeks before the average daily temperature here falls below 0 °C (ten years of weather): an estimate, not the day the ground freezes, and a cold spell can freeze it earlier. Sources: UVM Extension, UNH Extension, RHS, how the ground freezes (NRC Canada, CBD-26).

Garlic in Bern: soil, season and weather

Garlic goes into the ground in Bern from 4 October to about 21 December; the window opens a month before the first autumn frost. Nights then average below 0 °C in November–March; the coldest, January, averages -4 °C.

Planting	4 October – 21 December
First autumn frost	3 November
Coldest nights	January, -4 °C
Soil back at 5 °C in spring	18 March
Harvest (card)	about 8 months after planting: June
Daylight	11:34 on 4 October
Daylight at the winter solstice	8:31

The same dates in Bern hold for Tulip, Daffodil, Crocus and Hyacinth.

Garlic in Bern: care after planting

Planted on 4 October: in the first weeks water every 7 days.

Feeding, by the card’s schedule from that day:

4 October — feed: nitrogen
1 November — feed: nitrogen

Pests and diseases of garlic to watch for:

Dates count from the first planting day of the window above; a later planting moves them by as many days.

Garlic in nearby cities

Around Bern, Sion is 15 days earlier and Neuchâtel 25 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Fribourg	28 km	7 October – 30 December	3 days later
Neuchâtel	40 km	29 October – end of December	25 days later
Lucerne	66 km	20 September – 29 November	14 days earlier
Basel	69 km	21 October – end of December	17 days later
Lausanne	79 km	21 October – end of December	17 days later
Sion	80 km	19 September – 19 November	15 days earlier

Where to buy garlic for planting in Bern

Planting stock goes into the ground from 4 October to about 21 December; buy it before that. Within 15 km of Bern OpenStreetMap lists 8 garden centres, 2 plant nurseries, 8 markets and 53 farm shops (collected 27 October 2026).

Baumschule Heggidorn — plant nursery
12 km
Gärtnerei Schneider — garden centre
Rossgrabenstrasse 6, 3089 Hinterfultigen · 14 km · gaertnereischneider.ch
Gärtnerei Leonotis — garden centre
Mon–Fri 08:00–12:00, 13:30–18:00; Sat 08:00–16:00 · 14 km · leonotis.ch
Wyss GartenLaden — garden centre
Mon–Fri 09:00–12:30, 13:30–18:30; Sat 08:00–17:00 · 1 km · wyssgarten.ch

Questions