When to plant garlic in Timaru: 5 May – end of June

In Timaru, garlic: plant from 5 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 Timaru: soil, season and weather

Garlic goes into the ground in Timaru from 5 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 2.4 °C.

Planting	5 May – end of June
First autumn frost	4 June
Coldest nights	July, 2.4 °C
Soil back at 5 °C in spring	9 July
Harvest (card)	about 8 months after planting: January
Daylight	9:58 on 5 May
Daylight at the winter solstice	8:50

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

Garlic in Timaru: care after planting

Planted on 5 May: in the first weeks water every 7 days.

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

5 May — feed: nitrogen
2 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 Timaru, Queenstown is 15 days earlier and Nelson 17 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Christchurch	147 km	6 May – end of June	1 day later
Dunedin	175 km	22 April – end of June	13 days earlier
Queenstown	217 km	20 April – end of June	15 days earlier
Invercargill	318 km	9 May – end of June	4 days later
Nelson	384 km	22 May – end of June	17 days later
Blenheim	389 km	1 May – end of June	4 days earlier

Questions