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(Best months for planting Garlic in New Zealand - cool/mountain regions)

• Easy to grow.
• Harvest in 120-180 days
• Cloves. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed.
• Best planted at soil temperatures between 10°C and 35°C.
• Space plants: 10-12cm

Garlic is traditionally planted in cold weather and harvest in summer ("plant on the shortest day, harvest on the longest"). Plant the cloves, point upwards, deep enough to just cover with soil. A fairly tough and easy-growing plant. On better soil with regular watering you will get a better crop. On poorer soil, and forgetting to water them, you will still get some garlic, only not quite so much.

Leave a garlic to go to seed, and you will probably get plenty of self-sown plants the following year.

To keep for later use, dig up and leave to dry out for a day or so after the green shoots die down. To use immediately, pull up a clove when you need it, or cut and use the green shoots.

Culinary hints - cooking and eating Garlic

Cut the growing shoots or use the entire young garlic plants as 'garlic greens' in stirfry.

Your comments and tips

17 Jul 11 Laura (New Zealand - temperate climate)

This is for all those looking for Kakanui garlic. Kakanui garlic comes mostly from Jim O'Gorman's farm in Kakanui. He told me that it's just regular garlic and grows really big because it's been growing in his incredible soil for several generations. There is nothing special about the garlic itself, but you can learn to build soil like his here www(dot)dirtdoctor(dot)co(dot)nz.

11 Sep 11 Peter (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)

My 70 or so garlic cloves were planted on about the shortest day and are now starting to go yellow on the tips of their leaves. The leaves are about 200-250 mm high and some of the yellowing extends up to 80 mm back from the tips. They have had a normal application of general garden fertilizer. There appears to be adequate soil moisture. Would really appreciate it if anybody give me any hints as to what the problem may be.

05 Oct 11 rajesh (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)

Hi my name is rajesh and i am residing in napier northland NZ. where can we get seeds/plants of amaranth in NZ?

06 Oct 11 John Dennsion (New Zealand - temperate climate)

Home Harvest sell it from their website as a microgreen- not that that matters!

04 Nov 11 Rongo (New Zealand - temperate climate)

I planted my shop bought garlic midminter into a bed with plenty of compost and Nitrophoska Blue and it grew . It grew very well for the first four months. Recently it has had an attack from aphids (small and black) and the whole crop seem to be suffering, wilting away to nothing much. I have sprayed with a variety of commercial friendly insecticide/miticides and reduced the invasion of the "aphids", I have watered with Phostrogen but the whole crop (60+ bulbs) still seem in jeopardy. Your comments please. :( :) :)

11 Nov 11 (New Zealand - temperate climate)

I have a black mould or aphid on my plants, what is causing this and how do I remove it

26 Feb 12 Lisa (New Zealand - temperate climate)

i planted my garlic in the summer will it still grow properly?

18 Mar 12 Gail Williams (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)

Lisa - your garlic will grow but the bulbs will not fatten up. They need to experience the change between long days/short nights and long nights/short days. I suggest you leave them in over the winter and pick them next summer, or use them now as garlic flavoured spring onions.

07 Apr 12 Maree (New Zealand - temperate climate)

I weeded my garlic patch, first time growing, only to discover all the ones I missed harvesting, have all got green shoots on them, up to 20cm high (under the weed cover!). I have dug all the clumps out. Should I replant the clumps or separate each clove & replant?

11 Apr 12 (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)

its almost time to plant out according to calender, i would seperate and plant.