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 USA - Zone 5a regions)

  • P = Plant cloves

September: Garlic can overwinter. Cover with a good layer of mulch . In areas where frost persists into March/ April, expect to harvest your garlic in June/July.

October: Garlic can overwinter. Cover with a good layer of mulch . In areas where frost persists into March/ April, expect to harvest your garlic in June/July.

  • 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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25 Oct 08, jane (Australia - temperate climate)
what time of the year can I plant garlic, on an island in a river (murray) by the sea (goolwa) and how do I get started?
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22 Oct 08, warren (Australia - temperate climate)
I have planted italian red garlic and is looking great but it has shoots coming up through the centre which are actually each clove shooting from the bulb .Is this normal? I have friends growing it on commercial scale and theirs are doing the same .( My russian garlic is not doing this and is now pushing up its seed head already.) If this is not normal what do you do to get the bulb to stop shooting?
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30 Dec 10, Dennis (Australia - temperate climate)
Too much nitrogen causes the wiskas growing between the leaf / stem in soft necked varieties. Once started it cannot be stopped, at best hope it is not to bad and then you can detach the "side shoot" (small bub consisting quite a few small cloves) that devalopes from the main bulb leaving it only a little deformed. When the nitrogen is realy excessive the whole bulb distorts and breaks up and is not only ugly but also difficult to find good seed cloves for next years planting. They say that if you have a very small amount of side shooting then your nitrogen application was very accurate
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20 Oct 08, Jaci (Australia - temperate climate)
Maria, yes it sounds like garlic to me. You might not want to eat any plants that have gone to seed though as they may not taste as nice. If they haven't gone to seed, let the leaves yellow and die off before pulling them out of the ground to hang and dry for a few weeks before eating. This drying out allows the garlic bulb to form properly and separate into cloves.
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19 Oct 08, Maria (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
I have something growing in my garden that I hope someone could recognise from my description. I thought it may be garlic as when i tear the leaves they smell like garlic. It comes out of the ground as one single stem with the leaves coming off the centre like onion or garlic, the stem is the thickness of a leek and it gets a purple flower head on the top almost the size of a tennis ball. Is this garlic, can i eat it?
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22 Nov 10, jared (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
sounds like an ornamental Allium. If you feel the flowers are beautiful you can nurture the plant.
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15 Oct 08, colin (Australia - temperate climate)
We have planted garlic for the first time this year, we thought we would try supermarket garlic which was china ,and it grew really well,also califorian late and spanish all gowing great
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14 Oct 08, barbara burnet (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
I have been growing aussie garlic for 12 years. First in Qld. now in Sth Victoria. My garlic is known as Australian Golden Garlic. 'The PEARLS of LIFE. tm. All is vibrant seed garlic . lasts stored 15 months or more. And grows and multiplys 10 fold. Flavour hot sweet and very moorish.Cloves med-large , purple colour. Delicious.!!
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14 Jun 18, Peter (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi Barbara, are you still in the market with your garlic? I'd love to get hold of some. Cheers! Peter
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10 Feb 15, Tony (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Where can I buy garlic seed to buy?
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Showing 541 - 550 of 577 comments
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The ones that work best in my region (Brisbane city) are Glen Large. These have been specifically bread to grow well in SE Qld and in the warmer regions. I plant them in raised beds, raised plastic planter boxes from bunnings $20 (about 40cm by 70cm). Keep the cloves in the fridge for about 2-3wks, start planting from late march and finish by early to mid April. Harvest around October.

- Lucas

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