馃 Garlic 路 March
Whether March works depends on which corner of the country you鈥檙e standing in. Here鈥檚 the per-city read, sowing, transplanting and harvesting, plus the spacing, the timing and the family-of-four maths.
Days to harvest
180-210 days (6-7 months)
Spacing
15 cm
Cities sowing in March
0
,
Family of 4
Plant 50-100 cloves (4-8 bulbs' worth) for a family of 4; allows generous use plus some to save for next season's planting
March in autumn is one of twelve windows the Australian year offers, and whether you can plant garlic this month depends on which corner of the country you're standing in. Below is the per-city read: where garlic is being sown from seed, where it's going in as seedlings, and where it's already being harvested.
No major Australian city is sowing garlic from seed in March. No major Australian city is transplanting garlic seedlings in March. Nowhere in Australia is in the active garlic harvest in March.
Across Australia's climate zones, garlic keeps to tropical, not recommended (garlic requires a cold vernalisation period); subtropical, april-june; temperate, march-june; cool, march-may; arid, april-june. March sits inside that window for the temperate, cool zones. The longer version, including the climate-zone-by-zone breakdown, lives on the Garlic growing guide.
Garlic is one of the most rewarding and surprisingly easy crops for Australian raised bed gardeners. It requires a period of cold to vernalise and trigger bulb formation, this is why it must be planted in autumn and winter in most Australian climates. Tropical climates cannot grow garlic successfully without using hardneck varieties that require less cold.
If you're planting garlic this March, the bed prep is the same as any other month: a 30 cm-deep raised bed worked through with compost, spacing of 15 cm between plants, and full sun (6+ hours daily). The crop takes 180-210 days (6-7 months), which means a March planting will be ready around September. Use the raised bed calculator to size the bed and the companion planting guide to fill it out.
For a household of four, Plant 50-100 cloves (4-8 bulbs' worth) for a family of 4; allows generous use plus some to save for next season's planting Expected yield is 1 bulb per clove planted (10-12 cloves per bulb at harvest).
The March garlic read changes city by city. The list above is the high-level signal; for the exact dates and bed-by-bed planting plan, the Plant Planner garlic module reads your postcode and your bed dimensions and does the rest of the maths.
Whether March works for garlic depends on your climate zone. The planting windows are: tropical, not recommended (garlic requires a cold vernalisation period); subtropical, april-june; temperate, march-june; cool, march-may; arid, april-june. In March specifically, the broad rules suggest it's a planting month in the temperate, cool zones.
Garlic takes 180-210 days (6-7 months). A March planting will be ready around September. Harvest garlic when approximately half the leaves have died back (typically October-December in most Australian climates). Dig carefully with a fork, lifting the whole bulb. Do not pull by the stem. Cure harvested garlic by hanging in bunches or spreading on racks in a warm, airy, shaded location for 2-4 weeks. Well-cured garlic stores at room temperature for 6-12 months.
Plant 50-100 cloves (4-8 bulbs' worth) for a family of 4; allows generous use plus some to save for next season's planting Yield expectation: 1 bulb per clove planted (10-12 cloves per bulb at harvest).
Full sun (6+ hours daily). Moderate, reduce watering as bulbs mature; stop watering 2 weeks before harvest. Soil pH 6.0-7.5. Spacing 15 cm between plants, 25 cm between rows.
The planner reads your postcode and your bed, picks the right window, and emails the reminders the weekend before each task.
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