Growing Garlic

Allium sativum : Amaryllidaceae / the onion family

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

(Best months for growing Garlic in Australia - sub-tropical 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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02 Mar 20, Anon (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Look up the internet about garlic varieties for different climate zones.
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12 Feb 20, janick whan (Australia - temperate climate)
whith is the best month to plant garlic .thank you
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13 Feb 20, Cas (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Look it up. Hit , make sure it's your zone at the top of the page. Likely Apr/May/Jun
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02 Feb 20, william kerr (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
what garlic is best to grow in the gympie region for a commercial crop? where would I get it?
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17 Mar 20, Graham Bower (Australia - temperate climate)
For many years I stuck rigidly to old theory of "plant shortest day" and Harvest longest day. Always very successful, but recent years have experimented to early as mid April. Reasonable success with slightly earlier harvest. but quality not quite as good as later planting.... . In Berwick Vic.
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03 Feb 20, anon (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Contact the agricultural department in your state.
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17 Dec 19, Brian Gavaghan OAM (Australia - temperate climate)
With our diverse weather, what watering should we do?And Oblige Brian
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18 Dec 19, Another gardener (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
It is a bit of trial and error. Have good draining soil. Little plants need little waterings more often, daily, big plants a lot more water less often, 2-3 times per week. General rule dig down into the soil 50-70mm to see how moist the soil is. You will quickly learn that say a crop of lettuce might need 60 sec of watering. Whereas some mature tomatoes plants need 2-3 minutes.
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14 Nov 19, Graham Bower (Australia - temperate climate)
In Berwick Vic. Have grown garlic with great success for years but this year virtually all plants have segmented in the ground pre normal harvest time. Plants are still strong, green and upright although have grown slimmer leaves as they segment. I do not believe I have done anything differently this year. Any thoughts?.
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18 Nov 19, (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Maybe the hotter weather.
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Showing 91 - 100 of 577 comments
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I generally have garlic in my compost -- little bits that have maybe rotted a bit, and I can't even imagine how they grow -- but anyhow ---- I dig kitchen scraps directly into the garden over winter. Winter here gets down to about -10c for short periods of time (several nights in a row, for half a dozen hours at a time) -- generally winter temps are closer to -3c at night. Anyhow, come spring the areas where I have dug in kitchen scraps directly into the garden are usually sprouting : potatoes and garlic (among other things). So despite that I am actually planting garlic in winter, it will not grow until spring. I also grow garlic via the two year method (collecting seeds called bulbils - planting them immediately upon collection (so fall) )-- they grow in spring -- and then next year, they grow the garlic. Depending on the TYPE of garlic you are growing you can get 60 or more bulbils from one flower -- so this is economical if you have the SPACE. Again, the garlic is overwintered directly in the garden. In my area/zone, you have to yank out garlic if you don't want it -- because it just seems to grow and grow (same thing with fuchsia and potatoes).

- Celeste Archer

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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. Gardenate 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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