Growing Garlic

Allium sativum : Amaryllidaceae / the onion family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
        P P            

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

  • P = Plant cloves
  • Easy to grow. Plant cloves. Best planted at soil temperatures between 50°F and 95°F. (Show °C/cm)
  • Space plants: 4 - 5 inches apart
  • Harvest in 17-25 weeks.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Beets, Carrots, Cucumbers, Dill, Tomatoes, Parsnips
  • Avoid growing close to: Asparagus, Beans, Brassicas, Peas, Potatoes

Your comments and tips

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15 Apr 10, (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
@daga, anytime from late autumn into winter is ok for planting garlic in Melbourne. They need a winter chill to get started.
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08 Apr 10, Raji (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I planted organic garlic cloves which started to grow in the basket last year around June 22nd and harvested a healthy crop around December. Make sure the garlic cloves are from Australia and not imported - even better if it is organic.
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06 Apr 10, daga (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
i want to plant garlic now'. Is it right time? Pl advice. I am in melbourne.can i plant same bulb we used daily or can get seeds for this. Thanks
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28 May 13, Harry Butler (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Go for it right now and best to buy seed stock from your local nursery or mitre 10. Your first crop should have been in by now and subsequent crops up until mid June. You should be able to keep yourself in supply for the whole year with 3 crops well spaced. There is no excuse for buying the imported rubbish.
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23 Feb 13, Robert (Australia - temperate climate)
From Melbourne, born again organic gardner, just started on garlic late last autum here , a whole 2 bulbs! Good size and taste. Put some more in around late November, healthy but small bulbs, hower very tasty and nothing like the unadventurous supermarket variety. Looking forward to planting plenty this season.
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06 Apr 10, Chris (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
We planted 2 bulbs worth of cloves last winter and they were brilliant. Just buy them from the market - make sure they have some roots left on them, separate the cloves (don't peel) and plant pointy end up. We harvested 2 lots in Oct then Dec. The earlier ones were biggest, and I'm guessing that it was the stock that they came from which made the difference.
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05 Apr 10, minloo (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Where can I buy a commercial quantity of garlic seed??
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04 Apr 10, Lillie Hugill (Australia - tropical climate)
We eat lots of garlic, I put garlic in all my cooking,as such I spend a small forutne buying local garlic. I thought its best I grow my own. I am now in the same predicament as Donna and Matthew, I am strugglling to buy garlic shoots. Appreciate if someone could point me in the right direction please.
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04 Apr 10, Debra (Australia - temperate climate)
I'm in the same boat as Donna and Mathew - rural WA so markets aren't really a good place to buy, most shops only sell the chemically treated China garlic which won't germinate. Diggers have about 8 varieties of garlic but can't get them or potato to WA. Would like to be able to grow different varieties but can't get them locally anywhere. Help please - any seedlings I've seen have all been the plain white variety (Bunnings locally and Benara Nurseries will deliver)
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12 Jul 10, molly (Australia - temperate climate)
Garlic can be sent to WA, I've just ordered some, it does cost though... garlicfarmsales.com.au/ Just add the www. to the front of it cheers, molly
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This is a transcript of a article on growing garlic in central Australia (desert). It is on ABC Rural News and may be a help to you. Trials reveal potential for garlic-growing in Northern Territory Posted 7 Oct 2016 MAP: Alice Springs 0870 A trial exploring the capabilities of seven garlic varieties in the red centre is showing some early positive results. Seven varieties of garlic are being trialled at the Northern Territory's Arid Zone Research Institute (AZRI), alongside the standard industry garlic variety, Glen Large. The Alice Springs environment will demonstrate how varieties that have never been grown commercially in the Northern Territory respond to extreme cold and extreme heat. Central Australian Horticulture Development Project manager and researcher Stuart Smith said despite challenges such as poor water quality, the results so far had been positive. "We're hoping, because we're just south of the Tropic of Capricorn, we're just a bit a little subtropical, that we're in the right area," he said. "We've got the right heat profile, right day length and we're able to grow some good bulbs. "If it'll grow here, it'll grow anywhere. "Central Australia is a bit isolated from the rest of Australia so it doesn't have the pests and diseases of the other garlic-growing areas." Plan to get garlic onto market early in season Mr Smith believes there is a market opportunity for garlic that grows early in the traditional growing season. We thought we could get a few varieties to come early on the market, so we can get some good prices for them and replace the imported garlic," he said. The first successful harvested trial crop has reached a stage of maturity that would be ready for market. "It's got a code name called AF. We're getting some good-sized bulbs out of this," Mr Smith said. "I estimate we're getting 6-8 tonnes per hectare." The DPI's Stuart Smith and agriculture minister Ken Vowles stand in a field of garlic PHOTO: Stuart Smith and Primary Industries Minister Ken Vowles discuss the garlic crop trial near Alice Springs. (ABC Rural: Katrina Beaven) Mr Smith said the early trial results were encouraging despite poor water quality and salty soils. "We have to keep watering them pretty constantly to keep moving the salt out of the root zone," he said. "The water we're using at AZRI is pretty low quality. "Most of the water other people are using in horticulture around the Central Australian region is a lot better quality than this." Mr Smith said the research results would also add value to what was being learned by a grower at Orange Creek Station, south of Alice Springs, who is conducting a commercial garlic trial this year.

- John

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This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. GardenGrow is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department. The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.
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