Your comments and tips

08 Mar 17, John (Australia - temperate climate)

The easiest way to get garlic is to buy it from a green grocer (fruit shop) or nursery and separate the cloves before planting. one garlic bulb will yield 8 - 12 cloves. Seed is often available from seed companies, nurseries or garden centres. Refer to the Vegetables & Herbs guide on this site for more planting information. Happy garlic growing!

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26 Feb 17, Mateke (South Africa - Semi-arid climate)

Can I just grow garlic and store for more than 6 weeks?

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26 Feb 17, John (Australia - temperate climate)

When the tops die off garlic is ready for harvest. If you hang it in a dry airy place it will keep for months. You can use some of the cloves to gro your next crop. Trust this helps.

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29 Mar 17, Ken WIlson (Australia - temperate climate)

Heres an answer for garlic, I grow about 300 plants a year and get good results with about 90% of the cloves coming in at 5cm in diameter plus. Season. Garlic takes up to 9 months to mature. Plant in autumn, late March to May, harvest November to December. Clove selection. Plant only the largest cloves, at least the size of your top thumb joint, I have big hands so I plant cloves 2- 2.5 cm across. Its easy to eat the biggest and the best, its better to plant the biggest and the best. Spacing. I plant 15 - 18 cloves per square metre, 25cm apart in rows 25 cm apart. With 30 cm + paths between 4 rows. It's easy to crowd them, and the yield in terms of weight may be much the same, but bigger garlic are a lot more fun and much easier to use in the kitchen. Sunlight. Whilst garlic can tolerate low sun during the winter months it needs 8 hours direct sunlight during the early and late growth stages. So lots of clear sky when it's maturing, September onwards. If your nutrition is right, (and soil acidity is right) then water could be the problem. While not much water is needed in winter, the ground should be kept moist through the season, especially in spring. A shallow watering is best the roots don't go down more than 30 cm max. Once to twice week during the maturing season. We cant control the weather, but avoid flooding (and applications of nutirients) during the final few weeks to lessen the chance of fungus attacks and sprouting. Garlic likes a moderate amount of lime (dolomite), you can rely on the recommended amount at least two weeks before planting and once every three years. Maturity. Look for tops fading in colour, a weakening of the stem near the base and a flattening of the top of the bulb when (gently) exposed Thats a lot and there's a lot more. It's a labour of love and a lifetime. And I'm sure others will have other suggestions, this is just a framework of what has worked for me. Planting at the moment actually. Regarding shallots most of the above also applies but Im not much of an authority. Shorter season length, but most of the above applies. I plant under the same conditions as garlic but only a few dozen and get good results.

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03 May 17, rod tuck (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

Ken Thank you for your very informative post.Will definitely following your advice.Cheers Rod

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01 Jan 17, Douw G. Swart (South Africa - Semi-arid climate)

hi i have no idea what the climate zone or soil classification for vosburg, northern cape, is. i guess semi-arid is the closest i can get to semi-desert. i would like to grow garlic here. can you please advise. regards, dgs

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03 Jan 17, John (Australia - temperate climate)

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.

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12 Dec 16, Chris (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

Hi, I was wanting to grow garlic on the Atherton Tablelands, some 800m above sea level, in the tropics. We have a subtropical to temperate climate. Which garlic would be best suited to our conditions? Thanks

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19 Nov 16, Jagtar (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

I would like to grow my own Garlic. what is the right time and is there any difference difference between Chinese and Australian garlic.

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21 Nov 16, John (Australia - temperate climate)

Hello Jagtar Refer 'Garlic. 12 November. Ralph. I posted note there about Chinese Garlic Regards John

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