When to plant garlic in Invercargill: 9 May – end of June

In Invercargill, garlic: plant from 9 May to the end of June.

Garlic is best planted early in the window: cloves planted late make smaller bulbs. Late planting works only while the soil is not frozen. Mulch after planting.

The average daily temperature here stays above 0 °C all winter, and at least two months average 10 °C or less: the cold garlic needs, one to two months at 0–10 °C (RHS). The two-month threshold is our rule of thumb. Sources: UVM Extension, UNH Extension, RHS.

Garlic in Invercargill: soil, season and weather

Garlic goes into the ground in Invercargill from 9 May to the end of June; the window opens a month before the first autumn frost. No month averages below 0 °C at night; the coldest nights, in July, average 5 °C.

Planting	9 May – end of June
First autumn frost	8 June
Coldest nights	July, 5 °C
Soil back at 5 °C in spring	already in the first week of July
Harvest (card)	about 8 months after planting: January
Daylight	9:38 on 9 May
Daylight at the winter solstice	8:35

The same dates in Invercargill hold for Tulip, Daffodil, Crocus and Hyacinth.

Garlic in Invercargill: care after planting

Planted on 9 May: in the first weeks water every 7 days.

Feeding, by the card’s schedule from that day:

9 May — feed: nitrogen
6 June — feed: nitrogen

Pests and diseases of garlic to watch for:

Dates count from the first planting day of the window above; a later planting moves them by as many days.

Garlic in nearby cities

Around Invercargill, Queenstown is 19 days earlier and Nelson 13 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Queenstown	154 km	20 April – end of June	19 days earlier
Dunedin	176 km	22 April – end of June	17 days earlier
Timaru	318 km	5 May – end of June	4 days earlier
Christchurch	464 km	6 May – end of June	3 days earlier
Nelson	694 km	22 May – end of June	13 days later
Blenheim	705 km	1 May – end of June	8 days earlier

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