Growing Garlic

Allium sativum : Amaryllidaceae / the onion family

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

(Best months for growing Garlic in South Africa - Semi-arid 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

06 Dec 23, Pieter (South Africa - Humid sub-tropical climate)
I was not able to find anyone selling day neutral varieties such as Southern Glen; sounds as if day lenght makes a huge difference in warmer subtropical climates; does anyone have advice as to which variety will form the best bulbs in the Lowveld's warm winters
01 Sep 23, Isaac Sieberts (South Africa - Humid sub-tropical climate)
Which province in southafrica is the best to plant garlic
06 Jul 23, Pitso Maseko (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
What type of soil is suitable for growing a garlic ? Between hard neck and soft neck which test best?
03 Jul 23, Fezeka (South Africa - Humid sub-tropical climate)
Hi there. I'm interested in planting Garlic. What is the differences between hardneck and softneck garlic ? What variety / cultivar is best for sub-tropical and summer rainfall areas ?
05 Jul 23, (South Africa - Humid sub-tropical climate)
Softneck garlic has leaves that remain soft and flexible even when mature, while hardneck garlic typically has thicker and more brittle skin. Softneck garlic, which is often found in grocery stores due to its longer shelf life and mild flavor, is a preferred choice for most recipes. In the tropics, it is advisable to grow softneck garlic as it tends to perform better in warmer weather conditions.
20 Apr 23, Carol (South Africa - Semi-arid climate)
Hi Feb to April is that the only time to grow Garlic in south africa Or is there another time slot Thanks
08 May 23, Anonymous (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Probably yes. If you could grow it other times it would say so. Plants need certain soil temperature to germinate and climate conditions to grow and mature.
05 Mar 23, (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
The temperature in the freestate goes down to minus 10 ⁰c and 39 ⁰c in summer. Can i plant garlic to grow during the winter here?
16 Mar 23, Celeste Archer (Canada - Zone 5a Temperate Warm Summer climate)
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).
06 Mar 23, (South Africa - Dry summer sub-tropical climate)
It says to plant Feb to April.
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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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