Divisi
When to plant Garlic in Manhiça
Maputo, Moçambique
Known here as alho
Garlic (Allium sativum) is grown for its compound bulb — the head that splits into the cloves you cook with.
| Fit | Favourable |
|---|---|
| When to plant | 11 Apr 2027 – 10 Jun 2027 opens in 27 weeks |
| Expected harvest | about 15.0 t/ha |
| Harvest | From 9 Aug 2027 to 6 Jan 2028, depending on the planting date |
| Ready to harvest | 120–210 days after planting |
| Work it takes | 123–248 days per hectare, by hand |
Rain-fed. These dates are worked out from each place's own rainfall, for a field watered by the season — with irrigation a window can open earlier, close later, or come round more than once a year. Check your own field under What grows, or get the Divisi app for a calendar dated to your farm.
If you only get one chance to plant, aim for around 11 Apr 2027. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.
This season's rainfall outlook for Manhiça leans dry, so these dates sit later than the long-run average. Planting on the date you are used to risks germinating into a false start and having to replant.
Planting after 10 Jun 2027 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.
What decides this in Manhiça
| Rain and temperature | 96% |
|---|---|
| The soil | 76% |
| The lie of the land | 88% |
For garlic in Manhiça, the soil is the tightest of the three at 76%. This is the one you can actually move. Lime raises a sour soil, manure and compost lift what it holds, and both work within a season or two — money spent here changes the answer.
The 2026/27 season in Manhiça
| Rainy seasons | One each year — one chance to plant, so timing carries it |
|---|---|
| When the rains are expected | October 2026 to May 2027 |
| Rain in a typical year | About 832 mm |
| This season's rain | Leaning dry — January, February, October, November and December look short of rain. Plant at the early end of the window, favour quicker and more drought-tolerant crops, and keep moisture in the soil: mulch, and weed early. |
| This season's heat | Hotter than usual — about +1.4 °C over the growing months. Heat makes the same rain do less, so a dry spell bites sooner: do not plant late, and shade or mulch what you can. |
| What that supports | enough rain for one full main crop, warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season |
| Ground this covers | 3 kinds of ground. The season below is the largest that farms — about 80% of this area. |
| 80% | enough rain for one full main crop; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 210 growing days · about 820 mm · October to May |
|---|---|
| 13% | enough rain for a long crop, or two in a year; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 279 growing days · about 950 mm · October to July |
| 6% | enough rain for one full main crop; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 211 growing days · about 810 mm · October to May |
last updated 17 September 2026
What garlic needs to grow here
| Soil it likes | well-drained sandy loam or loam soil |
|---|---|
| Soil sourness (pH) | Happiest between pH 6.5 and 7.5 |
| Spacing | 30 cm between rows, 10 cm between plants |
| Feed it most with | sulphur, nitrogen and potassium |
What it takes to grow garlic in Manhiça
| Nitrogen (N) | About 150 kg per hectare |
|---|---|
| Phosphate (P₂O₅) | About 60 kg per hectare |
| Potash (K₂O) | About 150 kg per hectare |
| In the shops | A basal compound at planting — Compound D, or an NPK blend — covers the phosphate and potash. A nitrogen top dressing — urea or AN — goes on once the crop is established. |
| Hand work | 123–248 days per hectare, by hand |
These are the nutrients a garlic crop of that size carries off the field. What you actually apply depends on what your soil already holds — which is what a soil test, or the app's field records, tell you.
What to watch for
Grow Garlic with a plan, not a guess
Everything above describes Manhiça as a whole — your own soil, slope and rainfall will shift the dates. The Divisi app works them out for your field, and dates each job that follows.
This calendar moves
Planting windows shift with the forecast. Leave your email and we'll send what changed, and a note when planting time nears — a couple of emails a month at most.
Frequently asked questions
Will garlic grow well in Manhiça?
Manhiça rates as favourable for garlic.
When should I plant garlic in Manhiça?
Typically 11 Apr 2027 to 10 Jun 2027, forecast-adjusted.
Is this exact for my own field?
No — these are readings taken across Manhiça, not on your field. Soil, slope and rainfall change from one farm to the next. Check your own location to see your own numbers.
