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
  • Mature cured garlic
  • Almost ready to harvest
  • Garlic cloves
  • Mature cured garlic
  • Young garlic shoots

Garlic is traditionally planted in cold weather and harvested in summer ("plant on the shortest day, harvest on the longest"). Plant the cloves (separated from the bulb), point upwards, deep enough to just cover with soil. A fairly tough and easy-growing plant but in 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, maybe just a single large bulb.

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 head 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 stir-fry.

Your comments and tips

29 Oct 08, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Jesse, you should get one head (or bulb) of garlic from each plant. The bulb will contain a number of cloves. Some varieties produce more cloves than others.
21 Jun 09, gareth (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)
somethings eating my garlic HELP PLEASE!!!
06 Sep 10, Cathy Black (New Zealand - temperate climate)
What fertiliser to use ? How much per hecter? and When? Thankyou
25 Apr 11, Tony (Australia - temperate climate)
Just wondering what fertilizer i should use for the garlic after planting Kind regards Tony
14 May 17, liz (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)
how deep do i plant the garlic bulb - do i start it off first trying to get some roots developing or do i just plant a clove at whatever depth they require - thanks
15 May 17, Ken (Australia - temperate climate)
I normally plant mine point end up about 25-30 mm below the surface. They can take a while to come up just like other bulbs such as daffodils.
17 May 17, Tony Robinson (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)
I live just out of Dunedin where we get frosts and occasional snow storms, our winters could be classed as severe. Garlic is similar to shallots in that it was regarded years ago to plant both shallots and garlic on the shortest day (June 21st.) and harvest on the longest day (December 21st) How-ever I now plant my garlic at intervals from early May through to mid August with great results. I always plant my clove straight into the ground with the top about half an inch below the surface. Space your cloves about six inches apart, the best of luck with your future plantings. Tony
23 Nov 17, Manju Campbell (New Zealand - temperate climate)
I planted garlic in may and it was so healthy up October and now it get a rust will you please let me know when is the harvesting season .or what shall I do
09 Jun 18, Juping (New Zealand - temperate climate)
How and when do you grow garlic from seeds? I live in Wellington. Thank you.
02 Jul 18, Cathrine (New Zealand - temperate climate)
I live in Wellington and have garlic growing currently from clove. I like growing things from seed but growing from clove is far more efficient if it’s for a kitchen garden. I opted for organic garlic from Commonsense. Plant directly in situ pointed end up into a 5-7cm deep hole, July is ok, takes about 6 months before ready to harvest.
Showing 1 - 10 of 24 comments

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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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