Week 3 · Practice

Plant now for long payoff

Edible Landscapes

Garlic planting windows vary — Northland may plant earlier; Southland later into cool soil. General rule: cloves into free-draining bed, point up, mulched, weed-free through winter. Save your best bulbs for replanting; supermarket cloves often carry disease.

Green manure on beds resting until spring — lupins, oats, mustard depending on district and following crop — fixes nitrogen and holds soil. Plan the exit: mow, dig, or sheet mulch before planting tomatoes.

Winter planting window

  1. Prepare garlic bed

    Compost, no fresh manure on heavy soil; 15cm spacing; mulch lightly.

  2. Sow green manure where idle

    Broadcast cover mix; rake in; water if dry spell.

  3. Broad beans in cold districts

    Hardy legume for early spring pick — stake if exposed to wind.

  4. Record locations

    Map where garlic lives — rotation matters for disease.

Weeding garlic in spring is easier if beds were clean at planting.

Kitchen note: Green garlic harvested before bulb swells flavours spring stir-fries — different crop timing from dried bulb harvest in summer.