How to grow and harvest garlic

How to grow garlic

Where to plant garlic

The soil and temperature are crucial when growing your own garlic.

The best time to plant garlic on the Australian calendar is in March or early April in warmer climates. In cooler parts of Australia, spring is preferable.

In your garden, look for a spot exposed to the sun. The soil should also be well-drained.

Growing garlic from a clove

Can you grow garlic from store-bought cloves?

Buy your bulbs from nurseries with various named varieties. This way, you can choose the garlic that suits your particular taste and be sure it will grow. Some supermarkets spray their garlic bulbs with a sprouting inhibitor, which means they won't grow if planted in your garden.

Can you plant garlic gloves that have sprouted?

You can plant garlic cloves that have sprouted. Sprouted garlic cloves are often preferred for planting because the sprouting indicates that the clove is viable and ready to grow.

Soil

Select an area where garlic or its relatives (e.g. onions, shallots, leeks or chives) have not been planted the previous year in full sun with fertile and free-draining soil.

You can improve heavy or sandy soil by turning it and working through manure or compost.

The soil should have a pH of between 5.5 and 7.

How do you know when garlic is ready to harvest?

Typically, Austrlian homegrown garlic is ready about seven to eight months after being planted. Signs garlic is ready to be harvested include green leaves turning brown, and flower stems beginning to soften.

If the garlic is buried close to the surface, you can pull it out by the leaves. Otherwise, if it is too deep, use a gardening fork to lift it out carefully.

Garlic varieties

There are two main types of garlic, softneck and hardneck, and several types fall under each category.

Softneck garlic

Softneck garlic is arguably the most common type that you'll see in supermarkets. Generally white, the skin is thin with multiple layers of cloves.

Silverskin garlic

This variety has a strong flavour and is perfect for growing garlic with a long shelf-life.

Artichoke garlic

Identified by having fewer yet larger cloves, artichoke garlic can be recognised by sometimes having purple spots on its skin. The flavour is not nearly as intense as silverskin garlic.

Hardneck garlic

Hardneck garlic has a much firmer stalk, a couple of inches in length, and a bulb containing over 100 cloves. Typically, this variety doesn't last as long as softneck varieties.

Rocambole

Rich in taste, rocambole peels effortlessly. Doesn't keep as long as other varieties, just six months.

Porcelain

Similar in flavour to rocambole, porcelain garlic only has several cloves covered by a white casing. Porcelain garlic tends to keep for around eight months.

Purple stripe

Like their name suggests, this hardneck variety is identified by bright purple stripes on its outer layer. Purple garlic will usually last for six months.

Care Instructions

Your home-grown garlic must be well cared for during the growing process. Choose a high-nitrogen fertiliser to help feed the plants. As the weather warms up after winter, garlic can form flower stalks. Ensure that you remove the stalks to maximise the growth of the actual garlic bulb.

Plants that grow well with garlic

Companion planting garlic with other vegetables in your garden is a great idea to help with pests and to help your garlic and other plants thrive.

It is relatively easy to grow, takes up next to no space, and improves the soil quality for the plants around it. Due to its pungent scent, it is excellent at keeping pests away, including:

So here’s five things you should plant with garlic:

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