Growing Garlic – Plant now In a GreenSmart Self Watering Planter

Got Vampire Troubles? Grow Your Own Garlic

Growing garlic is easy for all types of gardeners.  New Zealand supermarkets’ garlic has mostly been imported from China and has been grown with considerable assistance from herbicides and pesticides. Most of the imports have detectable levels of heavy metals. In addition, the garlic bulbs are fumigated on arrival at NZ ports.

Growing  garlic is super easy in a GreenSmart Pot^TM. Garlic has plenty of health benefits and is considered to be a natural antibiotic. Did you know that you will increase the effectiveness of garlic by letting it rest for a while after chopping it up?

When to Grow Garlic?

The old adage is that growing garlic should be planted before the shortest day and harvested on the longest day. They thrive on starting out with the chill of approaching winter. Mid April to mid June is the ideal time to plant your own organic garlic. Chilly winters produce stronger flavoured garlic. Planting can be done in spring but will result in smaller bulbs. Spring planted bulbs should be kept in the fridge for a few days before planting to trick the bulbs into thinking they have been through a winter.

How Should I go about Growing Garlic?

This is the ultimate in low care gardening when growing garlic in a self watering planter. It is better to buy certified bulbs from your local garden centre. You can grow them from regular supermarket garlic but be suspicious of imported garlic as it will probably have been treated with anti-sprouting chemicals. Start by gently breaking apart a head of garlic – discard any odd shaped or small cloves.

Here is an on-line supplier.

https://gardenorganics.co.nz/product-category/seed-garlic/

Remove the skin from the biggest, healthiest cloves. Plant them 5-7 cm deep with the pointed end upwards. If you plant them too shallow the mature plants will fall over when the plants are full size. You’ll be able to lay out 4 rows of 7 cloves in a large pot or 3 rows of 6 in a small pot.

Sun

Growing great garlic requires full sun – at least 6-8 hours per day. They like well drained loamy soil with plenty of organic matter. The first shoots will appear after about a month.

& Rain

Most NZ areas get sufficient rain during the period May to October so the GreenSmart pot will catch plenty of rain and you won’t need to worry about adding water into the water sight glass until the plants are more mature in the warmer months. The self watering mechanism will take care of water requirements until the garlic become thirsty in summer. Avoid overhead watering as it encourages fungal disease on the leaves. It is easy to add liquid fertilisers (eg comfrey tea or seaweed) into the water sight glass of the planter. Be sparing with the watering as you want the soil to be moist but not soaking wet. Stop watering a couple of weeks before harvesting.

What sort of Fertiliser is required for Growing Garlic?

Enrich the potting mix with plenty of organic material. eg poultry or sheep pellets, Yates Dynamic Lifter, blood and bone, fish fertiliser. Enrich the soil as much as possible. Heavy rain will wash some of the fertiliser down into the water reservoir from where the self watering action of the wicking section will provide water to the plants by its capillary action. Once the plants start growing you can add liquid fertiliser into the water sight glass. This is particularly useful in September-October.

Pests and Diseases

Apply insecticidal soap spray to avoid thrips. Be sure there is good air circulation. (not a problem for Wellington gardeners!)

Companions

Growing garlic should also be planned as a beneficial companion plant for a wide range of plants.Avoid planting garlic with beans and peas.

Harvesting

The garlic bulbs will be ready to harvest when the lower leaves have turned brown and this will usually this will be about six months after planting. Dig them out- don’t pull them up and don’t damage the outer skin. Save the biggest bulbs to plant next year.

Let them dry in a shady airy spot for three days then allow them to cure for three weeks without trimming or washing them. Store them in mesh bags or plait the soft necks but don’t refrigerate. You will be able to store your crop for six to twelve months.

Save the biggest bulbs to plant next year.

DIY Organic Insecticide

Click here for a simple but effective insecticide that you can make from garlic.

Happy gardening,
Bill