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 Australia - tropical regions)

  • P = Plant cloves
  • Easy to grow. Plant cloves. Best planted at soil temperatures between 10°C and 35°C. (Show °F/in)
  • Space plants: 10 - 12 cm 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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09 Oct 18, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Black garlic Black garlic is a type of aged garlic which is attributed to be browned by the Maillard reaction rather than caramelized, first used as a food ingredient in Asian cuisine. It is made by heating whole bulbs of garlic over the course of several weeks, a process that results in black cloves. The taste is sweet and syrupy with hints of balsamic vinegar or tamarind. See more online
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14 Sep 18, Sue (Australia - temperate climate)
I have a garlic that has green shoots coming out of each clove. Is it still possible to plant the cloves now in the South West of WA? Thanks
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14 Sep 18, Mike (Australia - temperate climate)
Read the first line in the notes here.
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06 Sep 18, Nikki (USA - Zone 5a climate)
When is the best time to plant garlic in Western Colorado and southeastern Utah
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06 Sep 18, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Have a look here, www.gardenate.com/plant/Garlic?zone=11 You can find planting information by using the Vegetables and Herbs tab, then setting your zone at the top of the page for your chosen vegetable.
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29 Aug 18, Ruth Munro (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Can you still plant garlic in late August in castlemaine?. Its still freezing here minus 3 at night.
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31 Aug 18, Sue (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
You could give it a try but I doubt there will be time for the bulbs to develop as all the energy will go into leaf development. In Daylesford we plant in April/May and harvest around December. They also seem to like moist, cool weather and hopefully we are running out of that. Last year though, the cockies took all the tops off mine around this time so they had to grow new leaves and we still had good bulb development so you could give it a try. Let us know how you go.
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30 Aug 18, (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
It does suggest to plant April May - have a think about it.
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13 Aug 18, Michael (Australia - temperate climate)
Over the last couple of years I have had really poor garlic crops which I have put down to fusarium rot. I have since read that it is endemic to Australian garlic (shop purchased).Same this year , so I bought some Mexican or Argentinian stock, planted it in April and it grew beautifully, until most of it started to sprout shoots up the middle from the developing cloves. I left it until the middle of July then pulled it all up.to use as soft fresh garlic. Surprisingly about 10% of the plants were fully mature and dried well, also had a very good root system.Too much N2 climate change or just a warm Perth Autumn. My Australian garlic (March) is still struggling away Any other ideas
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14 Aug 18, Mike L (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Perth's climate is the opposite to East Coast - wet winter and dry summer. It says here plant April to June. It takes about 6 mths for garlic to grow. Maybe better to plant May or June - don't over fertilise it. It is variable weather - not climate change. Climate is the weather of 30 years.
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my Zone 10A garlic, all in rectangular containers 24" length x 7.5" width, x 6.5" height, is sprouting well also, with some shoots up to about two inches. I had several garlic bulbs I intentionally kept in my refrigerator for a couple months, divided them into cloves, peeled them to avoid mold and decay, and kept the separated cloves open to the light at room temperature until they started sprouting. When the majority had tiny green shoots, I selected the best cloves (solid, no spongy or discolored parts) and planted them shallow with the very top of the clove showing as per advice from an internet container gardening site. I am really being careful not to overwater and it looks like all the cloves sprouted green shoots, but after a couple weeks I did have birds pull up maybe eight out of thirty or so of the newly sprouted cloves, so I replanted the missing ones with a more cloves, then added about an inch more soil over the top, and so far the birds have not raided again with the cloves now about two inches deep. Lesson learned: the internet advice for container gardening to plant the cloves with the tip showing is an invitation to be raided by birds. Solution: plant deeper, maybe two inches below the soil surface, even in shallow containers.

- Dave in California Zone 10A

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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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