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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08 Feb 18, Hermien (South Africa - Semi-arid climate)
Can I plant in Nort West.
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17 Jan 18, Monika (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Hi when it the best time to plant garlic in Qld in a sub-tropical climate .
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19 Jan 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
This site is a self help site. It is for people to look up when how and why to plant vegetables in the their part of the world and their climate zone. Go to the home page and work it out. Go to vegetables - select the crop - select climate zone and read. It is all there.
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07 Jan 18, Carolyn (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi, I have 4 Pearl Garlic Plants that all have a head of seeds on them. The seeds are still white. do I wait for them to go black before I collect the seeds. And when I do - how do I go grow from seeds. when do I plant the seeds in the ground? I also have a bag of pearl garlic dried cloves from the Barossa (I am in Melb) - when can I plant the dried cloves. Would it still be in March/April? Any help would be appreciated :-)
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09 Jan 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I would suggest you research on the internet - how to grow garlic from seed. A lot easier and quicker from the bulbs I think.
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18 Jan 18, DavidG (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
I suggest saving 4-6 bulbs from each crop, divide the cloves and plant them. Simple and 100% strike rate
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22 Feb 18, Tony.E. (Australia - temperate climate)
If your plant that smells like garlic has a stem with a seed pod at the top then it is not a garlic, it has the name giant russian garlic or elephant garlic, but it is not a true garlic it is closer related to the leek family. True garlic does not grow seeds.
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17 Jul 18, Ray S (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
I’m afraid that’s not quite correct Tony. Garlic can and does set seed though only some varieties manage it. There is at least one breeding program, in Israel I believe, using true garlic seed to develop new varieties, among other things. It took them a while to track down varieties that do set seed but they managed. I have heard that the variety Duganski sets seed readily.
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23 Dec 17, Andrea Cousins (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Is there a suitable variety of garlic that I can successfully grow in Kununurra, (Ord River Region), Western Australia?
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28 Dec 17, Mike (Australia - tropical climate)
Go on the internet and see if there are any that are suitable for the tropics otherwise try any normal variety from a shop.
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Showing 381 - 390 of 915 comments
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Lucky for you, you're in the same climate zone as the famous garlic producing town of Gilroy, CA. I understand they plant around late October/November and harvest in June or July. I'm not sure what the result will be for you since you planted yours later and garlic needs a very long season. Try pulling them up in July. If your weather gets very hot before then I'd put some light shade cloth over the garlic to bring the temperature down a few degrees. You may find that your bulbs are smaller than you hoped for, or that it only makes one large clove instead of separate cloves. They should still be good, just not ideal. Then try planting again around Halloween and your garlic should be much bigger next year. Btw, I'm not sure why the chart says garlic shouldn't be planted in 9a. Certainly 9a on the West Coast can and does plant it.

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