When to plant Garlic in Juja

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Garlic

Kiambu, Kenya

Known here as kitunguu saumu · kitunguu thomu

Garlic (Allium sativum) is grown for its compound bulb — the head that splits into the cloves you cook with.

Garlic in Juja, rain-fed and with irrigation
Measure Rain-fed With irrigation
Fit Favourable
When to plant 27 Feb 2027 – 8 Mar 2027 opens in 21 weeks 22 Mar 2027 – 30 Jun 2027
Expected harvest about 5.0 t/ha about 14.9 t/ha
Harvest From 27 Jun 2027 to 4 Oct 2027, depending on the planting date
Ready to harvest 120–210 days after planting
Work it takes 123–248 days per hectare, by hand
Rain meets its needs 92%

Rain-fed. These dates are worked out from each place's own rainfall, for a field watered by the season — with irrigation a window can open earlier, close later, or come round more than once a year. Check your own field under What grows, or get the Divisi app for a calendar dated to your farm.

If you only get one chance to plant, aim for around 27 Feb 2027. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.

No seasonal forecast reaches Juja yet, so these dates follow the rains it usually gets rather than this year's.

Planting after 8 Mar 2027 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.

What decides this in Juja

Rain and temperature 76%
The soil 76%
The lie of the land 60%

For garlic in Juja, the lie of the land is the tightest of the three at 60%. You cannot flatten it, but you can farm it: plant along the contour rather than up and down, ridge or tie ridges to hold water on the slope, and expect shallower rooting than the crop would manage on flat ground.

The 2026 season in Juja

Rainy seasonsTwo each year — two chances to plant
When the rains are expectedFebruary 2026 to June 2026
Rain in a typical yearAbout 846 mm
This season's rainLeaning wet — January, February, October, November and December look heavier than usual. Make sure water can drain off the field; a wet year does more damage through waterlogging and disease than through the rain itself.
This season's heatHotter than usual — about +1.0 °C over the growing months. Heat makes the same rain do less, so a dry spell bites sooner: do not plant late, and shade or mulch what you can.
What that supportsenough rain for one full main crop, warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season
Ground this covers4 kinds of ground. The season below is the largest that farms — about 50% of this area.
Agro-ecological zones covering this area
50% enough rain for one full main crop; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 208 growing days · about 800 mm · February to June
41% enough rain for one full main crop; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 190 growing days · about 690 mm · February to June
6% enough rain for one short crop, and only if timed to it; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 177 growing days · about 650 mm · February to May
3% enough rain for one full main crop; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 240 growing days · about 950 mm · February to July

last updated 30 September 2026

Temperature holds back about 35% of yield here.

What garlic needs to grow here

Soil it likes well-drained sandy loam or loam soil
Soil sourness (pH) Happiest between pH 6.5 and 7.5
Spacing 30 cm between rows, 10 cm between plants
Feed it most with sulphur, nitrogen and potassium

What it takes to grow garlic in Juja

Nitrogen (N)About 50 kg per hectare
Phosphate (P₂O₅)About 20 kg per hectare
Potash (K₂O)About 50 kg per hectare
In the shopsA basal compound at planting — Compound D, or an NPK blend — covers the phosphate and potash. A nitrogen top dressing — urea or AN — goes on once the crop is established.
Hand work123–248 days per hectare, by hand

These are the nutrients a garlic crop of that size carries off the field. What you actually apply depends on what your soil already holds — which is what a soil test, or the app's field records, tell you.

What to watch for

Pest/disease risk — manageableSoil pH below the crop's optimum

Grow Garlic with a plan, not a guess

Everything above describes Juja as a whole — your own soil, slope and rainfall will shift the dates. The Divisi app works them out for your field, and dates each job that follows.

Or check your field first

Garlic in nearby districts

This calendar moves

Planting windows shift with the forecast. Leave your email and we'll send what changed, and a note when planting time nears — a couple of emails a month at most.

Frequently asked questions

Will garlic grow well in Juja?

Juja rates as favourable for garlic.

When should I plant garlic in Juja?

Typically 27 Feb 2027 to 8 Mar 2027, typical season.

Is this exact for my own field?

No — these are readings taken across Juja, not on your field. Soil, slope and rainfall change from one farm to the next. Check your own location to see your own numbers.

Also worth considering in Juja

Keep going

Timing is one question. What the crop needs at every stage, what attacks it and where to sell it are the others.