How to grow Garlic

A clove or two of garlic will give an exciting new dimension to even the most humble of home cooked meals. What’s more, it’s so easy to grow. Here’s how to produce this highly nutritious and versatile herb in your own garden.

How to buy

Garlic can be grown from seed, which can be obtained from horticultural suppliers.  It can also be grown from fresh garlic  bulbs purchased from your local organic grocer. (It’s important to use organic  garlic, as non-organic garlic is likely to be treated with chemicals that will prevent it from sprouting.) It is also important to choose a variety of garlic suited to your climate. Russian garlic is the variety most commonly available commercially and is best suited to warmer zones. Australian garlic has bigger cloves, a more subtle flavour and can be better suited to cooler areas.

When to plant Garlic

Garlic is basically a spring-flowering bulb, so wait until there is a chill in the air before planting. In areas that have frosty winters, plant garlic about 6 weeks before the onset of frost. The roots will start to grow immediately after planting and young garlic should break through the soil in about two weeks. It’s good to get good root development before winter dormancy.

Plant Garlic in the garden: Step by step

1. Choose a full sun position with light, well-drained soil and remove any weeds. Prepare soil with plenty of Searles Premium Organic Compost and if the soil is dry, water it well before planting.

2. Gently separate the garlic bulb into individual cloves by hand.

3. Dig a small hole for each clove, about 8 to 10cm deep and about 10cm apart. Plant the cloves pointy-end up, gently cover with soil and apply a light mulch.

Plant Garlic in a pot: Step by step

1. Choose a full sun position with light. Fill the pot with Prepare soil with Searles Herb  & Vegetable  Planting Mix.

2. Gently separate the garlic bulb into individual cloves by hand.

3. Dig a small hole for each clove, about 8 to 10cm deep and about 10cm apart. Plant the cloves pointy-end up, gently cover with soil and apply a light mulch.

How to harvest Garlic

Garlic should resume growth in spring and be ready to harvest by late spring or early summer. Plants should have five or six green leaves with no more than a couple beginning to turn brown. Bulbs will store in a cool, dry place for up to 8 months. Any unused bulbs can be divided up and re-planted the following season.

Garlic and pest control in the garden

Plant garlic with roses and raspberry bushes to deter aphids and around the winter vegetable crop to repels Cabbage White Butterfly, but oddly does not like to be planted too closely to cabbage, beans, peas or strawberry.

Companion Planting

To give your garlic a happy home, plant with apricot, cherry, mulberry, parsnip, peach, pear, raspberry, rosemary and rose bushes, read the full Autumn Companion Planting Guide.