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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21 Oct 09, John B (Australia - temperate climate)
First go at growing garlic - it now has a good healthy looking stem about 30 - 40cm high. How does one know when it is ready to harvest?
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06 Oct 09, Blinky and Tina (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
We are first home owners and we have a great garden to grow stuff. we have been successful so far. How ever we love garlic and can not get our hands on any seeds or bulbs to grow our own garlic. Where can we get it and how do you grow it?
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01 Oct 09, Skety (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Hi Dee, I've been growing garlic for about 40 yrs and I only plant it to the depth of 3/4 of the the clove and I have always had good results, cheers.
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24 Sep 09, Simone Stewart (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Hi Dee, onions are usually grown in this way, but not garlic. Here on the Stedi - Ridge farm in northern NSW, we grow certified organic Garlic, which is usually planted approx 2in deep. Well must dash, we are harvesting at the moment.
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20 Aug 09, Dee hasell (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
my husband recently planted garlic while i was busy doing something else, I glanced at the garlic a week later it is shooting well, but he has not covered the cloves up, they are just sitting quarter of the way in the soil. I thought that strange, he assures me thats how to plant garlic. Is he correct:?
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11 Aug 09, Barbara Burnet (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
weather in sth west victoria has been wet and cool.and windy. My Pearls of life are standing nearly two feet high. Folier spray once every 10 days, fish emulsion ,worm castings organic lifter.all in liquid form. The weeds are loving it also. But they ae protecting the garlic from those Northerly winds. Good luck to all.
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07 Aug 09, John (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi, we have been growing garlic now for 5 years on a pretty small scale, about 1 acre. Have been to field days, read literature & spent too many hours looking on the net. This has to be one of the most frustrating things I have ever been involved with. Some say it is swamp plant & you can't over water, others say to let them dry out a few times as it encourages growth. Heaps of fertilizer, very little fertilizer, sandy soil is best, loam is best etc. etc. Like an earlier post let the bulb tell you, ha ha. But it is true. For our purple garlic plant in March April with mild fertilizer, we use blood & bone. We water as you would any other plant, use a moisture meter or stick you fingers in the soil to see how dry/wet it is. Occasionally top dress with b&b. Pull one out every few weeks & see what it says. One thing that is common to all advice is to not water for the last 3-4 weeks (noted when the leaves start to turn yellow & die off) as this will produce a very slimy skin not easy to work with & hard to stop rot. Again pull one up & have a look at what it's doing, it will let you know same as a citrus, potato or anything else. Just takes time to get to know it. Hope this adds to the confusion, I know I still am.
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31 Jul 09, Tam (Australia - temperate climate)
I put my garlic in a while ago, and it sprouted well with strong leaves. However, it all then died off all at once - I don't think I was doing anything different at the time!!! Any suggestions about what might of happened. Am in Geraldton WA...
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28 Jul 09, Mel (Australia - temperate climate)
I've only had my garlic cloves in the ground for a few months. they are growing well and the leaves are nice and tall. The leaves are starting to turn yellow. some leaves green some yellow. what does this mean? do they need fertilizer? are they dying? is it too cold?
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25 Jul 09, Barb (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Hi Al - Good companion plants for potatoes include horseradish, or comfrey planted between then slashed as mulch (its deep roots bring potassium up into its leaves - as a mulch the potassium is then released into soil for the potato) Also peas/beans used in same way. Haven't heard of garlic with potato. I do scatter chopped up garlic amongst lettuce seedlings as a temporary deterrent against slugs.
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Showing 481 - 490 of 577 comments
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Heres an answer for garlic, I grow about 300 plants a year and get good results with about 90% of the cloves coming in at 5cm in diameter plus. Season. Garlic takes up to 9 months to mature. Plant in autumn, late March to May, harvest November to December. Clove selection. Plant only the largest cloves, at least the size of your top thumb joint, I have big hands so I plant cloves 2- 2.5 cm across. Its easy to eat the biggest and the best, its better to plant the biggest and the best. Spacing. I plant 15 - 18 cloves per square metre, 25cm apart in rows 25 cm apart. With 30 cm + paths between 4 rows. It's easy to crowd them, and the yield in terms of weight may be much the same, but bigger garlic are a lot more fun and much easier to use in the kitchen. Sunlight. Whilst garlic can tolerate low sun during the winter months it needs 8 hours direct sunlight during the early and late growth stages. So lots of clear sky when it's maturing, September onwards. If your nutrition is right, (and soil acidity is right) then water could be the problem. While not much water is needed in winter, the ground should be kept moist through the season, especially in spring. A shallow watering is best the roots don't go down more than 30 cm max. Once to twice week during the maturing season. We cant control the weather, but avoid flooding (and applications of nutirients) during the final few weeks to lessen the chance of fungus attacks and sprouting. Garlic likes a moderate amount of lime (dolomite), you can rely on the recommended amount at least two weeks before planting and once every three years. Maturity. Look for tops fading in colour, a weakening of the stem near the base and a flattening of the top of the bulb when (gently) exposed Thats a lot and there's a lot more. It's a labour of love and a lifetime. And I'm sure others will have other suggestions, this is just a framework of what has worked for me. Planting at the moment actually. Regarding shallots most of the above also applies but Im not much of an authority. Shorter season length, but most of the above applies. I plant under the same conditions as garlic but only a few dozen and get good results.

- Ken WIlson

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