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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27 Nov 13, sandy O'Brien (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
beautiful huge flowers on garlic, when do i harvest ?
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21 Nov 13, jo (Australia - temperate climate)
hi all, My Garlic (planted in late may) is throwing out flower stems which I keep snapping off, hoping that it will redirect energy into making big fat bulbs - is this the right thing to do ? when do I harvest it ? thanks Jo
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27 Apr 14, Jo (Australia - temperate climate)
It is not entirely necessary to snap off the flower stems - called scapes - some people do as they claim it makes the garlic store longer, others think it makes no difference. Either way, they are delicious eating, toss them in a stir fry, or stem them and eat like a vegetable with a dob of butter. The garlic flavour mellows out well when cooked!
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09 Nov 13, Karen (Australia - temperate climate)
I have always grown my garlic from bulbs. Can you tell me if there is also good success rate growing from seed? If I collect the seed what time of year would you start to germinate.
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18 Nov 13, Bill (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
It is really hard growing from seed. You should not try it. You should leave it to the experts who know what they are doing. Thanks
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08 Nov 13, joseph mastropaolo (Australia - tropical climate)
I live in north qld where tempretures get quit warm is there a variaty that will grow in hotter climate. We do not get a lot of cold weather also. I am growing some garlic this year but it seems to only be growing one bulb and not making clover
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30 Oct 13, Susie (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Can you tell me about the tiny, hard growths forming on the outside of the garlic bulbs just harvested? They seem to be the beginnings of new bulbs attaching to the existing bulbs.
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19 Oct 13, (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Garlic cloves were planted late March early April due the very wet soil. Location Killivan Qld . Wondering why No flowers have appeared yet. Usually harvest in November.
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17 Aug 13, fred (Australia - tropical climate)
what is the best variety of garlic to grow in NQLD for commercial production
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29 Oct 13, allen (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
i grow purple stripe at childers qld i have found it easy to grow.harvesting late aug.i have 50000 seed to plant this year. allen
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Showing 311 - 320 of 577 comments
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David, I also live in Zone 10A but in California (hot and dry, average 10 inches of rain per year), and please IGNORE the Aussie who thinks we do not check our Zone 10A recommendations. I have been container gardening here for a couple years and am still learning, with notable mistakes being not knowing correct planting/harvesting times (I now use this website over anything on a seed package), overcrowding, and overwatering. I have successfully grown garlic in Zone 10A, from store bought garlic cloves that were sprouting tiny green shoots, and they produced but the heads and cloves were only about half the size as the original store-bought, which might be caused by the climate, or more likely from be the mistakes I was making trying to grow new things like crowding, overwatering, and not knowing when to plant or harvest. Anyway, give growing garlic a try and my best advice is to avoid overwatering. I had a lot of cloves rot instead of growing and I think it was because of overwatering. After doing more research I'm trying to grow garlic again by planting some in NOV, and some in DEC, and really monitoring the watering. Even though my garlic was half sized, it still tastes great, so I would rather have half sized garlic I can grow myself than not growing garlic.

- Dave in California Zone 10A

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