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 - temperate 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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15 Feb 09, rob (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
can you grow aussie garlic in qld
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14 Jul 12, swany (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
hi, im from cooloola cove qld. i planted garlic, onion and leeks in april, all looks very good, but went away for three weeks and the beds have now been taken over by weeds. to many to weed out by hand. what can i spray on them.
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29 Jun 14, (New Zealand - temperate climate)
We have just stated using sugar cain mulch and that is working.
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17 Jan 09, Barbara Burnet (Australia - temperate climate)
My organic Australian Golden Garlic this year, is beautiful. Very hot & sweet .Will have some extra for seed. ' 'The Pearls of Life.' Delicious.Loves cold dry organic soil.and regular watering.
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04 Jan 09, Maureen (Australia - temperate climate)
I don't want to buy bleached Chinese garlic & can't find Aussie kind so have decided to grow some, if I plant the bleached Chinese bulbs will the toxic chemicals transfer to the new garlic while growing?
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03 Jan 09, Cooper (Australia - temperate climate)
Jodie - a local producer here in the Uppper Hunter is growing organic garlic and selling online - google the name 'Patrice Newell Garlic'. Happy hunting.
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31 Dec 08, Ben Knox (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Gday, we live right up the mountain end of the Ovens Valley,N.E. Vic and have just harvested our first galic crop, fully organic. Its a good one! We grew tommies, capcicums, eggplants and corn in that patch last summer and are thinking to do a green manue crop like clover instead of more vegies then letting it rest for the winter. Wondering if this is the best way to go. Our soil is some of the finest untouched flood plain soil you will ever see, is well drained, full of worms and grubs, well mulched and completly clean. What are the thoughts of our fellow organic growers? Have a great day and happy new year to you all. Ben and Katie.
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18 Dec 08, Wendy (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
I live in Ballarat I planted mine in March and when I pulled some up in October they were like spring onions..so I phoned a grower who told me "Don't pull them up.. they look like that for ages and then they "bolt" and you will get a nice bulb.. which is what has happened.. We have had a cold wet winter and a not much better spring and summer ..I just just pulled some up as the tops fell over.. and still I have 20 plants till going strong.. If you put the cloves in oil please keep it in the frig and/or only cook with it ..as it can produce the botulism toxin in an anaerobic environment and this toxin is destroyed by cooking .. I am wondering now when to plant my next crop so would like to hear from anyone in my area Wendy
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14 Dec 08, jason (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
hi we have been getting good rain at our farm in newry victoria , what happens if i plant some garlic now, as lm about to head away for 3 weeks over christmas and had some laying about my kitchen used, and its still cool weather?
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03 Dec 08, Don Owen (Australia - temperate climate)
Christine, be aware that storing garlic in olive oil can produce dangerous toxins as it is too alkaline. Some acidifier such as vinegar must be added. There are many net references to this so I'd google this for more info. Don
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Showing 521 - 530 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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