I was planting in Seattle, but cover with fall leaves.

It's been a long time since I planted any garlic. The store is easier and the flavor the same, .....unlike home grown tomatoes.
Is there any time garlic shouldn't be planted?
Mike

Go ahead and plant your garlic. It should do just fine. A little late harvest.
GO HAWKS

Thanks to everyone for the responses! I'm going ahead and buying seed garlic this week. Will certainly protect the plantings from the frosts with fall leaves.

All my empty vegetable beds are covered with fall leaves to keep the weeds out. In the spring I either dig the rotting leaves in or move them to a compost heap.

Part of my reason for planting garlic and other staple vegetables is that I try to grow organic, i.e. the way I did in my old country. No Miracle-Gro or chemical pesticides here.

By biodynamic calendar next Saturday (2/7/2015) good time to plant root veggies.

Thank you, Briergardener! I've Googled biodynamic calendar: it sounds interesting. Will try to do some planting this Saturday, weather permitting.

LanaRoma,
Here is calendar that I am buying every year to follow.
Works for me.
http://www.amazon.com/North-American-Maria-Biodynamic-Calendar/dp/178250107X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422983375&sr=8-1&keywords=maria+thun+biodynamic+calendar+2015

How can one planting calendar cover North America and have any relevance?
Mike

It based on moon and constellations location.

Then that would apply to the entire Earth.

Well, in northern hemisphere Moon is ascending when it's in constellations from Sagittarius to Gemini and descending from Gemini to Sagittarius, in southern hemisphere it's ascending from Gemini to Sagittarius and descending from Sagittarius to Gemini.

How's a root crop gonna know that?
;-)
Mike

How ocean knows when to rise and fall tide? :-)
You can find a lot of info on internet or you can try to use biodynamic planting calendar (if you are organic gardener) to see if observations of Maria Thun and others are correct.

To each his own, but it's pseudo-science, and has as much relevance to gardening as astrology, horoscopes, Ouija boards, Chinese fortune cookies, and even those eight balls that answer every question.
Mike

Mike,
It's up to you to believe or not believe that plants respond to same gravitational pull of tides that affect oceans, which alternately stimulates root and leaf growth.

I don't want to continue this discussion any more.

OK, in case anyone is curious about whether there's a reason to plant garlic by the moon:

"The Royal Horticultural Society's science committee cannot find a scientific basis for planting by the moon."

"Professor Tony Trewavas, a plant scientist at the Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Edinburgh, said: "Vital forces don't exist, nor does the moon exert some special influence on seedling growth."

"Biodynamic farming does emphasise soil maintenance but any good conventional farmer does the same, without the rigmarole of vital forces."

Here is a link that might be useful: From the Guardian: the moon, scientists and Prince Charles

This post was edited by IshCountryGal on Thu, Feb 5, 15 at 20:35

Biodynamic is not only about soil maintenance, Maria Thun's calendar is proving this:

"The vital question of how final crop yield is affected by sowing date has been thoroughly investigated within the bio-dynamic movement. However, deep disagreement exists amongst experts in this area. For some decades now, Maria Thun has been reporting her results in her yearly Moon calendar, which apparently show weight-yields in accord with the elements of the sidereal or star-zodiac."

Gardening by moon (proven by generation farmers before me) works for me and my friends. I am using Maria's calendar for several years.

Moon phases relative to calendar date will shift over time, may coincide with good weather/crops/practices in consecutive years.

Briergardener, thanks for the book recommendation. Well, it's known that celestial bodies affect things on our planet. Sun is the most obvious example, and Moon influences too, although to a much lesser degree.