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

26 Feb 12, peter (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I would love to buy some garlic seed as well although, we live in brisbane - your seed may not perform as well in out hotter climate. please email me at [email protected] if you want to sell us some. Thanks, Peter
27 Feb 12, Garry (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Hi Peter,I live in Northern NSW..and have been growing my own Garlic for over 5yrs with great success.I have a large amount of bulbs from this seasons harvest..If you would like i could send you some bulbs.. E:mail:- [email protected] regards garry :)
13 Feb 12, Wade (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi all, just suggesting that planting times be shuffled back to start planting mid march thru to mid june, at the latest! Ive found that most garlic really like a bit of warmth and size before winter sets in...
02 Feb 12, Prue (Australia - temperate climate)
This year I let a couple of garlic go to seed and flower, so now I have thousands of tiny garlic cloves/seeds, should I plant them in the ground now as that is when they would of naturally fallen or wait till April? I'm in Melbourne if that helps answer my question
22 Jun 12, Michael Ouellette (Australia - temperate climate)
You can plant them as an experiment but you are better off planting the cloves from mature garlic. I also live in Melbourne and have been growing my own garlic for three years with success. I plant about 2- 300 cloves for our own usage yearly. PS: and loving it...
31 Jan 12, (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
I have planted garlic bulbs last year and nothing happened. Thought it all died off, but in the last week or so.... it's been soooo hot here and I now have garlic growing in my pots. Must be from last year's bulbs that didnt work. Not sure why they are sprouting at this time of year, especially in this heat when I thought they were a winter vege. Any comments would be good.
02 Apr 12, David (Australia - temperate climate)
it is possible that you bought mexican or some other countrys garlic which is 6 monthes different to ours hence the garlic coming up now
16 Mar 12, Pranav (Australia - temperate climate)
Jennifer,Buy cloves, glriac is a bulb plant not a seed plant, although the cloves are used as the seed' (confused yet?). :-)In this case the term seed' has a general meaning in so far as anything that can be sown i.e. seed potatoes, seeds of corn or sunflower seeds . In the case of sunflower and corn seeds , what is sown is the seed enclosed in a shell or hull, and the potato is a tuber and one can propogate them by planting small pieces of a spud that has grown an eye'.For best results, plant in the fall for next summers crop and because it is a bulb, think drainage.Hope that helps
01 Jan 12, Vanessa (Australia - temperate climate)
I live on the Murray River at a town called Tooleybuc. 2011 I planted heaps of cloves. They all sprouted!! I planted my garlic in March/early April. I left them until November and dug some up, only to find rather small bulbs. Left the rest for another month and the bulbs had not really grown much larger. The cloves were fresh Australian grown garlic. Did I overwater them? Is it possible to overwater. The guy I obtained my bulbs from, planted his crop in Feb and harvested in Nov. HELP!! What am I doing wrong?? Please. Any advice would be appreciated. Vanessa
12 Mar 12, Matthew (Australia - temperate climate)
I would say nutrition is the key! Garlic need a reasonable amount of fertiliser to form well. You should be able to google a fertiliser program, but a broad spectrum NPK+trace applied at planting and then more nitrogen over time will help.
Showing 371 - 380 of 577 comments

Do some research of varieties - there wouldn't be that much difference.

- Anonymous

Please provide your email address if you are hoping for a reply


All comments are reviewed before displaying on the site, so your posting will not appear immediately

Gardenate App

Put Gardenate in your pocket. Get our app for iPhone, iPad or Android to add your own plants and record your plantings and harvests

Planting Reminders

Join 60,000+ gardeners who already use Gardenate and subscribe to the free Gardenate planting reminders email newsletter.


Home | Vegetables and herbs to plant | Climate zones | About Gardenate | Contact us | Privacy Policy

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.
We cannot help if you are overrun by giant slugs.