Seed garlic
Seed garlic refers to cloves of garlic people plant to grow new garlic plants. Unlike other vegetable crops, garlic is not usually grown from seeds – instead, it’s grown from individual cloves. Planted in the ground, cloves will develop into new bulbs over the course of several months. When selecting seed garlic, it’s important to choose bulbs that are healthy, disease-free and suited to your local climate. Ask on local pages to see if anyone in your region is selling any – this is normally a great indication of which varieties grow successfully in your area – or talk to the experts at your local gardening centre.
To select high-quality seed garlic:
- Choose the larger cloves from bigger bulbs
- Look for healthy-looking cloves
- Plant extra this season for your own seed next year
What variety to plant
There are two main groups of garlic – soft-neck and hard-neck. Here are some of the key differences:
Growing habits
Soft-neck garlic is the most commonly grown type of garlic and is known for its braiding ability. Soft-neck garlic grows well in warmer climates and produces multiple layers of cloves around a central stalk. Hard-neck garlic, on the other hand, is known for its ability to grow in colder climates and produces a single layer of large cloves around a hard central stalk.
Flavour
Soft-neck garlic is generally milder in flavour than hard-neck garlic, with a slightly sweet and nutty taste. Hard-neck garlic has a stronger, more pungent flavour with a slightly spicy kick.
Storage
Soft-neck garlic has a longer shelf life and stores better than hard-neck garlic. Soft-neck garlic can be stored for up to a year, while hard-neck garlic tends to dry out and lose its flavour after a few months.
Appearance
Soft-neck garlic has a flexible stem that allows it to be easily braided, while hard-neck garlic has a stiff, woody stem that cannot be braided. Hard-neck garlic also has a distinctive flower stalk that grows from the centre of the bulb, which is not present in soft-neck garlic.
We live in the coldest part of the country and have been able to grow both varieties successfully, so if you can only find one variety, I wouldn’t worry too much. Focus on good clove size and disease-free seed as your priority.
When to plant
There is a common theory that you should plant garlic on the shortest day (this year it’s June 21) and harvest on the longest day (December 22). My recommendation is to plant at least a month before this. Planting in April or May will give your garlic more time to become established and more resistant to diseases like rust. If you follow the moon calendar, wait until after the full moon and plant in the first part of the moon’s waning phase.
Where to plant
Choose an area of your garden which is sunny, warm and well-draining. Avoid parts of your garden that get wet in winter if planting directly in the ground. Raised beds are typically well draining, so they’re a great place to start. Many growers experience problems down the track due to poor soil management. Crop rotation, companion planting and using quality fertiliser (blood and bone, seaweed tonic etc) are all recommended practices for successful garlic growing.
These plants are good companion plants for garlic:
- Tomatoes
- Strawberries
- Cabbages
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Kale
- Carrots
Our garlic will stay in the garden until mid-summer, so choosing the right area is a key part of garden planning. To plant, break the garlic bulbs up into cloves and select the biggest ones as seed. We prepare our planting area by ensuring that it is topped up with some fresh compost mixed into the soil. You can also mix blood and bone into the soil as this will give the soil a great boost of nutrients as the seed goes in.
Leaving the skin on the seed, plant the clove with the pointy end up at around 5-10cm deep. I prefer to leave about 15-20cm between cloves as this makes it easier for weeding, as well as allowing space for the bulbs to grow. Gently cover with soil and top with mulch – leaf mulch is great, but you can also use pea straw, fresh grass clippings or wood-shavings. Give the bed a good watering before and after planting. I thoroughly recommend adding some diluted seaweed tonic to your watering can after planting.
Top tip: Try soaking your bulbs in a diluted seaweed solution overnight before planting. This is like a fertiliser marinade and gives the cloves a boost.
Maintenance
Looking after your crop for the next few seasons takes a little maintenance to ensure a healthy harvest.
Mulch
Pull any weeds as they come through. Mulching garlic through winter with pea straw, wood chips or coarsely chopped leaves leads to bigger and better yields. Winter mulch helps keep nutrients in the soil from leaching away and also can help protect plants from strong winds.
Fertiliser
Keep your plants well fed. You can do this by adding blood and bone once a month or watering every four to six weeks with seaweed tonic.
Scapes
If the hard-neck variety of garlic was the one you decided to plant, in mid to late spring you will have garlic scapes (curly flower stalks) popping up. Pinch them off when they appear, to encourage the garlic to put more energy into bulb growth. Garlic scapes can be eaten like chives, dehydrated into a powder or made into a spicy pesto.
Good to grow: Don’t have a garden? You can grow garlic in pots. Place the pot in a sunny spot with at least 6-8 hours of sunlight daily and keep the soil evenly moist, especially during dry spells.
Storing garlic
After harvesting, the garlic needs to dry or “cure”. You can hang them up to dry, but personally we grow so many that I lay them out on pallets in the garage as it is cool, dry and dark. I turn them after a few days and ensure good airflow.
Once the garlic is dry, brush off any dirt. Soft-neck varieties can be braided and I bunch my hard-neck bulbs together with twine. To ensure longevity of your bulbs, store them in a cool, dark place. Keep an eye out for those big bulbs – as tempting as they are to use, they could be your seeds for next season!
Harvest
Many gardeners recommend harvesting on the longest day. However, in New Zealand, we experience a range of weather across the country, which leads to huge variations between growing seasons in different parts of the country.
Let your plants tell you when they are ready. Most years, we harvest a month after the longest day, meaning our garlic is in the ground for nine months. I know people in the North Island who harvest after seven months. Garlic is ready to harvest when the leaves begin to yellow and die back in early summer. To harvest, dig up the bulbs with a garden fork, being careful not to damage them. Try not to pull them out by their stems as they will likely break off in the soil.
Common problems
Garlic is a relatively easy crop to grow, but like any other plant, there are some problems to try to avoid:
- Regularly inspect crops for signs of pests for early intervention. Look out for aphids, thrips and slugs
- Diseases can be prevented by practising good crop rotation, using disease-free seed and planting in well-drained soil.
- Too much moisture can cause bulbs to rot. Avoid overwatering by hydrating the soil around the plant rather than the plant itself.
- Plant in late autumn so the garlic has enough time to grow and mature before harvesting in summer. Planting too late can lead to small bulbs or even failure to grow
- Planting garlic too deep can cause bulbs to rot as they need to be close to the surface to develop properly. Plant cloves about 5-10cm deep.
Garlic rust
Garlic rust is a fungal disease that causes the garlic plants’ leaves to turn yellow or brown with a rusty-coloured coating on the leaves and stems. If you notice signs of garlic rust on your plants, it’s important to take swift action to prevent the disease from spreading.
The first step in managing garlic rust is to remove any affected leaves from the plant. This will help to prevent the disease from spreading to healthy parts of the plant. Be sure to dispose of the infected leaves in the bin, rather than composting them.
Garlic rust thrives in moist conditions, so it’s important to increase air circulation around the plants. You can achieve this by spacing the plants further apart and pruning back neighbouring plants. To prevent the spread of rust, avoid wetting the leaves when you water the plants. Instead, water at the base of the plant and use a soaker hose or drip irrigation system to keep the soil moist.
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