Growing Garlic From Bulbs

You just can’t beat the flavour and freshness of homegrown garlic and it is an excellent pantry staple too. As a bonus, Australia has a great climate for growing this delicious crop and you can easily plant enough to keep you well-stocked for most of the year. Just one single clove of garlic planted will grow into a beautiful full bulb by the end of the season. Follow our top tips to maximise your crop.

Should you plant supermarket garlic?

Garlic from the supermarket isn’t the best choice for starting a new crop in the garden. Supermarket garlic can come from a range of regions or countries where the growing conditions are quite different to ours, which can lead to low-quality crops and potentially introduce diseases into your garden.

In comparison, true seed garlic (which is actually a bulb!) is grown on controlled production farms. These farms take great care when planting and storing their garlic, which ensures you aren’t introducing new diseases into the garden.
  

When should I plant my garlic bulbs?

Mr Fothergill’s stocks seed garlic from February to June, earlier than the main Summer produce bulb season. It is best to get your hands on them as early as they are available as stocks are limited. Plant garlic in March to early April in Australia. Colder climates may plant later in Autumn or Winter too.  

How to prepare your soil for Garlic

Garlic enjoys full sun and fairly rich and friable weed-free soil with a pH between 6 and 7. Improve your garden bed before planting by working in plenty of aged cow manure and garden compost. The added organic matter will improve drainage and replenish the soil.

Work the compost throughout the soil with a garden fork, breaking up any big clumps as you go. You want the soil to be broken up to a depth of at least 20cm, to give the garlic plenty of soil depth to thrive.

Planting and Maintenance

• Before you go ahead and plant your garlic gently break apart the bulb into individual cloves. Plant each clove 5cm deep and 10cm apart in rows with the pointed end to the sky, this is where the new stem will grow.
• After all of your cloves are planted apply a layer of mulch in between the rows. This will help to suppress some of the weeds. You can apply a light layer of mulch like sugarcane on top of the rows too if it is kept thin enough for the growing cloves to push up through.
• If your soil has a bit of natural moisture to it you shouldn’t need to start watering until after the crop has begun sprouting which can take a few weeks. Super sandy dry soils will benefit from a bit of additional watering, take care to not add too much though as you don’t want the dormant cloves to rot.
• You want to keep the soil moisture steady throughout the full growing season of the garlic but not waterlogged at any point. A way to check soil moisture is to dig down past the mulch into the level where the cloves are. If the soil feels cool and damp to the touch then leave the watering for another day.
• Top dress your garlic regularly with an organic fertiliser such as poultry pellets. You may need to do this every couple of months depending on how much manure and compost you worked into the soil at planting time.
• Weeds can easily overrun garlic crops so it is important to remove them regularly. Keeping the crop weed free, will improve airflow to the bulbs and will make harvesting a breeze.
  
  

Harvesting

Garlic will take quite some time to be ready for harvest, anywhere from 5 months to even 8! This will depend on your growing conditions and planting times. It is important to wait until the crop is ready for harvest unless you want to pick the garlic as young green garlic (this will have a short shelf life).

To check the progress of your garlic you can gently dig down into the soil around the base of the plant to see if the bulb has begun forming. If there is not much growth here don’t stress, the plant will just need more time to mature.

Once the bulbs have begun to swell and you notice the leaves start yellowing it is a great sign the crop is almost ready. As this occurs you want to hold off from watering the garlic, to help it dry down further. After a couple of weeks, the garlic leaves should have yellowed a little more and the bulbs should be nice and plump.

To harvest your garlic grab a garden fork and gently loosen the soil around your rows, be careful not to puncture any of the bulbs. If the soil is not loose enough you may find the stems rip off the bulbs which can make the curing process a little more difficult. Once you have gently removed all of your garlic it is time to hang them up in a dry airy spot to cure.

Curing your Garlic crop

Gently brush off the large chunks of soil from your garlic, don’t worry about peeling off any of the outer skin or washing it as you want to dry the crop down. You can either braid the stems of your garlic in a chain to cure, or tie them into bunches of ten or so bulbs with twine.

Hang them up in a dry airy spot, out of the weather ensuring they have plenty of airflow between each bundle. After a couple of weeks the stem should be completely yellow and crispy dry and you can work on cleaning up the bulbs.

To clean your bulbs use some sharp secateurs to trim the stem off the garlic, leaving a couple of centimetres of dry stem still attached. You can then brush off the dry outermost layer of skin on the bulb and the dirt should come off with it. Use either the secateurs or scissors to trim the roots off the bulb and your garlic is ready for the pantry!

Storing Garlic

Keep your garlic in a dark dry spot in your pantry in a breathable bag. Whole bulbs should last like this for around three to five months, any broken bulbs may not last as long so use those first. For long-term storage consider freezing some of your cloves.

Seed Garlic Bulbs are available for purchase between February and June each year. You can find them in the Spring Bulb range here.