Garlic Garlic is delicious when harvested green in summer or once the leaves have died down late summer. It takes 7-8 months to grow good garlic, and planting 20-50 cloves should be enough to feed your family for a year.
Garlic does best in areas with a cold spell of 10 degrees or below for longer than a month, without this the clove may remain whole and not divide into little bulblets. A warm winter will be the main obstacle of growing garlic in Sydney, however I have never had a problem. Autumn planting is best. Plant out cloves that you have purchased from a reliable mailorder company or Australian garlic (with the roots on) from the greengrocer. Note: Garlic grown in China will have the roots cut out due to quarantine reasons.
Planting Garlic needs good soil & full sun. They will be in the garden throughout winter mound the soil so it doesn't retain too much moisture that will cause them to rot off. Plant cloves 8cm deep and 15cm apart, do not split bulbs until just before planting, cloves at least 1cm across at base will give the best bulb. Ours sprung into life within 7 days. Water throughout spring. For green garlic, dig up in summer and use straight away. Otherwise did them up when the leaves are yellow, store by drying out the bulbs on trays for at least 2 weeks until the bulbs are dry and the skin is papery. When dry remove soil and plait the leaves and hang them in a cool airy place - we just hang them up at the backdoor ready when we need them.
Did you know? Other vegetables like growing with garlic as it wards off many pests in the vegie patch.
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