Growing Garlic

Allium sativum : Amaryllidaceae / the onion family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
                P P    

(Best months for growing Garlic in USA - Zone 5a regions)

  • P = Plant cloves

September: Garlic can overwinter. Cover with a good layer of mulch . In areas where frost persists into March/ April, expect to harvest your garlic in June/July.

October: Garlic can overwinter. Cover with a good layer of mulch . In areas where frost persists into March/ April, expect to harvest your garlic in June/July.

  • 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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25 Dec 21, marco (Australia - tropical climate)
hi i live on the gold coast queensland .one of my old garlic i planted october sometime that never taken off , sprouted . it sprouted two weeks ago .so i thought i would try to put a small crop in and bingo !! ,garlic is growing . so i planted a whole clove today .we have more rain and humidity so this might be the time . i will let u know how it turns out !
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14 Feb 22, Amanda (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Hi, I've failed many seasons with garlic! However, after a lot of research, I have a solution to growing sub tropic garlic. The key is growing the right variety, that can handle our heat. Glen Large garlic is the winner! Plant in April. Harvest in October. I've had a bumper crop with this variety.
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18 Feb 22, Gary Hall (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Please where can I get these Glen Large Garlic Bulbs I am in Wauchope NSW. Thanking you in Advance.
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21 Feb 22, Erika (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I agree Glen Large are the best variety for the subtropics. I'm just north of Brisbane and get amazing harvest if I plant and harvest at the right time. I bought Mine from Green Harvest. They include all the detail on how to grow. (https://greenharvest.com.au/)
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09 Apr 22, Gary Hall (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Thankyou Erica
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28 Dec 21, Mary (Australia - temperate climate)
It's too hot for them to grow in summer. Try growing garlic in Autumn and harvest around Oct-November
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08 Nov 21, Green thumb (Australia - temperate climate)
Hello, What’s the best way to store garlic, if you have some bulbs now in summer given to you , till your ready to plant on shortest day ? Thanks for the replies
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10 Nov 21, (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Dry them out in the sun/shade for two weeks. Then in a cool dry place in a tray, spread them out a bit.
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04 Nov 21, Melinda Horsey (USA - Zone 9b climate)
What about growing elephant garlic in zine 9b? Is it the same as regular garlic?
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08 Oct 21, Rich (USA - Zone 6b climate)
It's best to plant hardneck garlic in zone 6B from the middle to late October or even early November. The key is you want it to be cold, consistently below 45°, at least every night time. The first freezing encounter triggers garlic to start producing roots and that would determine how healthy and large the plants grow. Keep in mind freezing above ground may not equal freezing below ground. If you plant it in too warm a time, like early October, it may stunt the growth. It may even rot the garlic if it's wet too long. You may be able to accelerate the process by keeping in the refrigerator for a few weeks I'm not even know people who have kept it in the freezer for a few days or longer hopefully triggering root growth. I haven't tried that so I don't know.
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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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