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We grow a fair bit of garlic in Australia. About 400 tonnes of the stuff which sounds impressive but is dwarfed in comparison to the amount we import from China. 95% of garlic in Australia comes from there and to get it here they need to treat it with bleach and toxic biocide - methyl bromide to prevent potential bacteria coming into the country. Different countries have different rules on pesticides used, so a chemical that may be banned in Australia might freely be used overseas and then that product gets imported to here. Garlic is fairly easy to grow so doesn’t it make sense to plant it in your veggie patch and know that it is chemical free and has more flavour because it hasn’t gone through the chemical cleaning process. Garlic does take about 5-8 months to be ready for harvest so that is a slow growing crop. You might want to dedicate some large planter bags just for garlic or alternatively plant it in between other crops as it does repel pests too. How to Sow Garlic The best results are going to be achieved using nice plump sized cloves as the new plant is already stored in that bulb. A lot of people try using garlic cloves from the supermarket and planting those. But keeping in mind 95% of garlic is coming from overseas and has been bleached and sprayed with growth inhibitors (maleic hydrazide), you are likely to get very poor results. If the garlic is white, it generally means its been bleached. The best bet is to buy some from a local grower or buy dedicated seed garlic. That way you know its healthy stock that will give you a good harvest. The garlic bulbs can rot pretty easily if the soil is not free draining, so use raised mounds or raised garden beds and the water will get away easier. As with most veggies, adding compost and manures to the soil a few weeks before planting will give them a good kickstart. If your soil has a pH less than 6 (acidic) then add some dolomite to make it a little more alkaline. Ideal is between 6 and 7. Click LEARN MORE to read the rest of this tutorial on the Aussie Gardener Website. https://aussiegardener.com.au/blogs/aussiegardenerlibrary/how-to-grow-garlic-in-your-aussie-backyard