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 - sub-tropical 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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06 Apr 09, David (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi all, I live in Port Kembla and have been growing garlic here since 1995, sourced from Hungary and being a very large variety. Prior to that I was growing up to 50,000 cloves a season in the Southern Highlands. I got into a habit of checking the previous season’s crop for the root ends to appear on the bottom of an individual clove. They start out being tiny bumps. This will start to happen when the weather tends cooler. My crop for this year’s plant is ready to go in now. Read the clove. Only it knows its time. Rich organics, B&Bone D.Lifter for best results. Twice clove depth to plant in a raised row. Water daily ok if well drained. Nothing real critical in growing garlic I find. It still grows well with none of the above. Good luck and happy growing.
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30 Mar 09, emma (Australia - temperate climate)
Barbara, would love to know where you can source the "Pearls of Life" garlic. There only appears to be a supplier in the US.
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27 Mar 09, Colleen Beattie (Australia - tropical climate)
Hi I want to grow garlic in foam boxes or pots to take advantage of sun and cannot find info re optimal depth of soil below bulb. Can you help? Thanks
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20 Aug 13, Teena Knight (Australia - tropical climate)
Barbra I would love to buy some seed from you. thankyou regards Teena
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26 Mar 09, garlic grower (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
just starting out all help apprieciated
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26 Mar 09, Geraldine (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Hello Garlic growers Just wondering if anyone in Sydney is planting their garlic now? Last year I didn't plant till mid April and a few in May, but on Better Homes and Gardens on Friday, they said now is the time to plant. Any tips appreciated.
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23 Mar 09, peter h (Australia - temperate climate)
avoid chinese garlic if you can, local garlic can be found at the many fruit & veg markets around the country. I know WA quarantine does not let garlic through from the east. So you have to get off the internet and get down to your local growers markets. for example Freo markets and waneroo markets in Perth. Its quite easy to find - pretty much all year round aswell.
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13 Mar 09, Barbara Burnet (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
This year 2009 has been very hot and dry. In past have always planted my beautiful organic "Pearls of Life ' around the first full moon in April.This year will wait for the first big rains and then plant immediately. Prepare soil now with good spread of blood and bone and garden lime. Select best garlic bulbs for planting whithin next 6 to 8 weeks. This garlic is first farlic of the season. Usually ready by mid October.
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02 Mar 09, alan (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
wendy in ballarat - be careful of the botulism toxin because cooking and eating botulism will see you paralised. i would recheck your info.
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28 Feb 09, Ian C. Purdie (Australia - temperate climate)
Chinese Garlic? - don't even think about it. Complete waste of time. Where to buy Garlic? - There is one organisation on line if you Google "seed garlic+au". The price will shock you though. Over $5 a bulb before P&P. I suggest Woolworths or Coles and specifically look for "Australian Garlic". Not ideal but... Growing Garlic? - Plant only Australian bulbs March / April and harvest throughout November. NSW Government has a nice PDF file which is a big help. Google "planting garlic+au"
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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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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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