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 50°F and 95°F. (Show °C/cm)
  • Space plants: 4 - 5 inches 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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27 Nov 16, Mary (Australia - temperate climate)
Lambrina, I think you'd be wasting your garlic to plant them now at end of year. They need about 7 months to grow and you'll be expecting them to finish their season in Winter - it won't be pretty! For temperate, plant by end April and you'll be harvesting Nov/Dec. I am able to use horse/cow manure on my garlic bed about 4 weeks before planting and the garlic loves it. Had my best garlic harvest 2 days ago. good luck. Mary
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20 Sep 16, Maria (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi I am passionate of growing my own garlic ,this Year is my third Year of growing garlic, I started with a dozen now I have 300 ,I had Good crop last Year but this year I had a bit concern on my garlic, the cloves are splitting and sprouting and growing back, I dont know what to do ,shall I harvest immature or Live until they are mature which I have to wait for another 8 weeks.your advice would be much appreciated .Thank You .
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12 Aug 16, Steve (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi RayShort answer - nope. Though there is a school of thought that phases of the moon does impact planting... plant anything that crops above ground during or just before full moon, the opposite for root crops. Think of the influence the moon has on the oceans (tides) and you're on the right track. Personally it's a little too far for me ( in every sense).
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05 Aug 16, ray (Australia - tropical climate)
Is it true you must plant garlic during the time of a full moon, would be interested to hear any comment. Thanks in advance. Ray
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09 May 16, Anna Lasiuk (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi ,is it ok to plant purple garlic in a pot? Also do I need to keep it protected from frost and what should I feed it? We live in South Hobart Tasmania and the soil is clay Thank you Anna
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01 May 16, Glennis Leary (Australia - tropical climate)
Can I grow garlic in Kununurra WA and what variety ios most suitable. Thanks
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26 Apr 16, Rosa (Australia - temperate climate)
I have not had much success with growing garlic, last year they when harvested most of them were rotten. So how much water does it need? If planted in the some rectangular bed with beans or peas how far should it be? Thanks
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07 Nov 16, Robyn (Australia - temperate climate)
Rosa, the article states not to grow with beans maybe that is why you are having trouble growing garlic
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05 Oct 16, Jayne (Australia - temperate climate)
Yes I am having the same problem this year
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26 Apr 16, Vincent (South Africa - Humid sub-tropical climate)
Hi. Thanks for the information. I have grown garlic on raised beds, and the plants look fine. I want to know if they will withstand a tropical sun or I will have to shield them with a sunscreen. Plants are a month old, and the weather is on the shift from 5he rainy humid season to the dry and sunny season.
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This is a transcript of a article on growing garlic in central Australia (desert). It is on ABC Rural News and may be a help to you. Trials reveal potential for garlic-growing in Northern Territory Posted 7 Oct 2016 MAP: Alice Springs 0870 A trial exploring the capabilities of seven garlic varieties in the red centre is showing some early positive results. Seven varieties of garlic are being trialled at the Northern Territory's Arid Zone Research Institute (AZRI), alongside the standard industry garlic variety, Glen Large. The Alice Springs environment will demonstrate how varieties that have never been grown commercially in the Northern Territory respond to extreme cold and extreme heat. Central Australian Horticulture Development Project manager and researcher Stuart Smith said despite challenges such as poor water quality, the results so far had been positive. "We're hoping, because we're just south of the Tropic of Capricorn, we're just a bit a little subtropical, that we're in the right area," he said. "We've got the right heat profile, right day length and we're able to grow some good bulbs. "If it'll grow here, it'll grow anywhere. "Central Australia is a bit isolated from the rest of Australia so it doesn't have the pests and diseases of the other garlic-growing areas." Plan to get garlic onto market early in season Mr Smith believes there is a market opportunity for garlic that grows early in the traditional growing season. We thought we could get a few varieties to come early on the market, so we can get some good prices for them and replace the imported garlic," he said. The first successful harvested trial crop has reached a stage of maturity that would be ready for market. "It's got a code name called AF. We're getting some good-sized bulbs out of this," Mr Smith said. "I estimate we're getting 6-8 tonnes per hectare." The DPI's Stuart Smith and agriculture minister Ken Vowles stand in a field of garlic PHOTO: Stuart Smith and Primary Industries Minister Ken Vowles discuss the garlic crop trial near Alice Springs. (ABC Rural: Katrina Beaven) Mr Smith said the early trial results were encouraging despite poor water quality and salty soils. "We have to keep watering them pretty constantly to keep moving the salt out of the root zone," he said. "The water we're using at AZRI is pretty low quality. "Most of the water other people are using in horticulture around the Central Australian region is a lot better quality than this." Mr Smith said the research results would also add value to what was being learned by a grower at Orange Creek Station, south of Alice Springs, who is conducting a commercial garlic trial this year.

- John

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