Growing Garlic

Allium sativum : Amaryllidaceae / the onion family

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

(Best months for growing Garlic in Australia - cool/mountain 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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18 Jul 10, (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
My garlic is being eaten almost completely by some animal - best guess rabbits, wallabies or possums.
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27 May 10, Chris@Gardenate (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Jim, there are successful commercial growers in Australia. There was an item on radio 2BA breakfast show in Bega around 8th March this year interviewing a local garlic producer - their website probably has it still available.
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13 Jun 10, hzprstn (Australia - temperate climate)
Excellent coverage of garlic growing in Oz on Landline ABC tv Sunday 13th June 2010, program repeat on Monday 14th probably also available online later....... every time I buy a bulb in Woolies I plant half the cloves, I'm not quite self-sufficient but getting there ! the fresh stuff is so much better ! Like onions, it's the bulbing up phase that is tricky - sometimes the weather is against you. I plant anything that sprouts in the kitchen lol
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24 May 10, marina (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
we planted garlic and on checking under the mulch there seems to some mould forming,any information on what we should do.thnks
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27 May 10, (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
If the garlic is going mouldy it might not be viable. If it's just coming off the mulch then it won't be a problem as it's just the mulch breaking down.
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24 May 10, James (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I have planted my garlic in March / april this year .. leaves are up nicely but many starting to show yellowing in the leaves .. does anyone know what this means ? is it a nitrogen deficiency or something else I should be fixing?
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15 May 10, Neville Chandler (Australia - temperate climate)
Eden seeds in Queensland supply garlic bulbs for planting. They appear to sell in minimum of 1 kg lots. I bought some purple garlic and it appeared within 7 days of planting.
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11 May 10, Maryanne (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
My question isn't about garlic but ginger. I'm wondering why gardenate has no reference to ginger? :(
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13 May 10, Chris@Gardenate (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Hi Maryanne, we set up gardenate to provide reminders for planting veges. It's expanded a bit since then, but we haven't got around to ginger yet.
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10 May 10, Glen (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
can someone advise where to buy good garlic for planting in the Blue Mountains/western sydney area?
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Showing 431 - 440 of 577 comments
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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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