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Vegetable
Garlic
Allium sativum
Planted as cloves in autumn and harvested in late spring to early summer, garlic is easy and stores for months. Use Australian-grown planting garlic, not imported supermarket bulbs, which are often treated and may carry disease. Keep it weeded and stop watering once the leaves start to yellow.
- SunFull sun
- Spacing12 cm apart
- First pick26–34 weeks
- FrostFrost hardy
- HeatStruggles in heat
- Sow depth50 mm
When to plant where you live
Checking your area…
Add garlic to my gardenTake care with pets and children
Pets: Seriously toxic. Children: Not known to be toxic. Parts: all. Toxic to dogs and cats.
Varieties (4)
- Australian WhiteSoftneck, adapted to temperate Australia; reliable and stores well
- Elephant garlicActually a leek relative; huge mild cloves, very easy
- Italian Pink (softneck)Mild, easy-peeling type that copes with milder winters on the plains
- Monaro PurpleHardneck with strong flavour and big cloves; needs a cold winter, so best in the Adelaide Hills
Neighbours
Grows well with
Keep away from
From seed to plate
Plant
12 cm apart, seed 50 mm deep. Full sun.
Water
Moderate; stop watering in the last month.
Feed
Compost before planting.
Pick, from about 26 weeks
Lift when half the leaves have browned.
Good to know
- Plant cloves pointy end up, about 3 to 5 cm deep and 10 to 15 cm apart
- Harvest when about a third of the leaves have browned
- Snap off flower stalks (scapes) on hardnecks; they're good to eat and help bulbs size up
Common problems
- Small bulbsplant the biggest cloves, keep the bed weeded and water through spring
- Rust (orange spots on leaves)space for airflow, water the soil not leaves; remove badly affected leaves
- Bulbs rot in wet soilplant in raised or free-draining beds
- Poor storagecure bulbs in a dry, airy, shady spot for 2 to 3 weeks before storing
If you use a garden chemical, follow the label exactly. Try organic options first, and ask the community or Plant Doctor if you're unsure.
Guides
Where this information comes from
- Australian seed company regional sowing charts (temperate zone) (germination, low confidence)
- ABC Gardening Australia: Guide to garlic (growing, medium confidence, checked 27 Oct 2026)
- ABC Gardening Australia fact sheets (growing, low confidence)
- ABC Gardening Australia: April alliums (growing, medium confidence, checked 27 Oct 2026)
- Sustainable Gardening Australia: planting guides (sowing window, low confidence)
- Poisons information centre plant guidance (Australia) (toxicity, low confidence)
- ASPCA Animal Poison Control: Garlic (toxicity, high confidence, checked 27 Oct 2026)
- PDSA Pet Health Hub: onion and garlic poisoning in dogs (toxicity, high confidence, checked 27 Oct 2026)
Reviewed by AI cross-check (Claude), not a horticulturist on 27 Oct 2026. Version 2.