Garlic
Select Your Climate
If there’s a savoury dish garlic can’t improve, we don’t know about it! This culinary and medicinal vegetable can be in the ground for 5-6 months, so pop in some fast growing leafy greens around them.
When to plant/sow in zone:
Requirements:
Sunny position; cool conditions; remember to water. Check with suppliers for garlic that does best in your area.
Soil:
Well-drained soil enriched with compost and/or well-rotted manure or organic pellets.
How to start: CLOVE: Separate the bulb into cloves. Make holes 3-5cm deep, spaced 10-15cm apart, in rows 20-30cm apart. Pop one clove into each hole with the pointy end facing up. Cover with soil. Water in and mulch with straw. Garlic will grow through mulch. Don't water again until shoots start appearing in 2-6 weeks.
How to grow: Water regularly and deeply so the soil remains moist but not overly wet. This could be daily in very hot weather. Avoid watering the leaves. Apply seaweed solution or liquid fertiliser fortnightly. If soil is poor, apply organic fertiliser pellets every two months. Stop fertilising after 6 months. Keep weed-free.
When to harvest: Harvest from 28-32 weeks when the leaves are starting to die. Don't wait until all the leaves have died. Pull up a plant and check the cloves have fully formed and are covered in their outer skin.
Troubleshooting:
Aphids; thrips; rust; powdery mildew
Wondering what to plant when?
Use our planner to create a planting calendar for your climate zone
View Planting Guide
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