Growing Garlic in Melbourne

There’s nothing better than homegrown garlic. Not only is it rewarding to grow, but growing it yourself will give you peace of mind that it will be free of nasty chemicals. All garlic imported from overseas is treated with methyl bromide, and also potentially bleached.

Autumn is the time to plant garlic and it is such a rewarding plant to grow - as long as you have patience!

It takes around 7 months for your garlic to be ready for harvest, which will be well into summer so you need to plant it in a patch where you are happy to wait for your garlic to mature.  A good tip is to plant it where you are planning to grow your tomatoes as they are thought to be good garden companions.

For best results plant your garlic by the end of May. If you need to wait until June, then some growers have found that refrigerating the bulbs before planting can improve their performance.

Garlic can grow in full sun to partial shade. Because they grow in winter, the soil can become quite wet, and the bulbs can rot. So plant in free draining soil.

Garlic likes a soil pH of neutral to slightly alkaline. It’s worthwhile doing a pH test first, and if the soil is on the more acidic side, add some lime.

To plant, separate the garlic cloves and plant them individually in rows with the pointed end facing up, spacing them around 10-15cms apart.

Garlic doesn’t like competition, so a layer of straw mulch will help prevent weeds growing in your garden patch, as well as insulating the soil.

Approximately once a month, give the garlic an application of seasol. But over winter, unless it’s unusually dry, it is not necessary to water.

In late November (or early December) watch for the tops to brown off, this is the clue that your garlic is ready!

To harvest, loosen the soil underneath with a small hand trowel and gently pull the foliage from above.

For other tips on growing veggies this autumn and winter, see our fact sheet.