Garlic use on the rise

It’s led to an increase in the number of backyard gardeners planting garlic as well as boutique and broadacre commercial growers.

Australian Garlic Industry Association chairman and South Gippsland boutique garlic grower Leon Trembath, “Churinga”, Madalya, Victoria, said the industry was in a rebuilding phase.

“When the association was in full flight, before the introduction of imported garlic, we had nearly 300 garlic growers and that number went down to about 11,” Mr Trembath said.

“Five years ago we started rebuilding the association and now we have 130 members and we’re still growing.” 

Home cooks were driving interest in garlic, Mr Trembath said.

“We used to see recipes where you’d cut the garlic clove in half and rub it around the saucepan and garlic had a bad name, but now people are using it everyday.”

Being easy to grow makes garlic a popular choice farmers and gardeners.

“If you get the right cultivar in the right environment it’s very easy to grow, so growers need to do their research to know what’s the best cultivar for their environment,” Mr Trembath said.

With garlic fetching between $20 per kilogram and $30/kg, it can be a profitable crop, but growers need to have space, water and a good market to attract higher prices.

“One thing that’s very important is the rotation – you might need 20 acres (eight hectares) to harvest four acres (1.6ha) of garlic,” Mr Trembath said.

Organic garlic has become popular, with certified organic Australian garlic in plaits selling for up to $65/kg.

“More and more people are growing organic garlic because consumers are becoming more discerning,” he said.

“They don’t just want Australian garlic, but organic garlic.”

The increase in the number and popularity of farmer’s markets has presented more opportunities, particularly for boutique growers with smaller crops.

“Most of the bigger growers would find an agent but it’s a good outlet for the boutique garlic farmers,” Mr Trembath said.

“The markets are very popular. We can turn up in early December and people have been waiting for us to come.”

Mr Trembath’s goal for the industry is to increase the number growers in Queensland to provide a year-round of supply of Australian garlic.

“In Queensland they’ll start to harvest in September and we don’t harvest until November and December, and it’s even later in Tasmania.

“It could be a few years away but we should be able to get fresh Australian garlic all year round.”