Garlic

Garlic is a perennial flowering plant grown from a bulb.  It’s tall erect flowering stem can grow up to 1 metre in height.  There are broad flat leaves and occasionally small white flowers.  It is native to Central Asia nd NE Iran.

Since Egyptian times we have been using garlic in cooking.  It has a strong lingering oniony taste.  So strong that a little goes a long way!

It has also been used for its medicinal qualities .  During WW1 and WWII they used garlic as an antiseptic to prevent gangrene.

Where to Grow

Light, well drained rich soil in full sun.  The garlic likes a loose soil so get the fork in and make sure it’s well turned.  Garlic is planted by dividing up the cloves from the bulb and planting each clove separately.  You can plant the cloves relatively close together as long as you allow for the development of a whole head.   If you prefer a more precise measurement try to space cloves 15cm apart and make sure there is 30cm between each row.  Dig in lots of compost.

  The soil is best if it is rich and well draining.  You only need a loose covering of soil on top of the planted clove.

Propagation

If you are using your own bulbs the lift the bulb as soon as the leaves turn yellow.  Split the bulb up into divisions and plant each out

Planting time

Autumn

Top Tip - try keeping one or two cloves in the bed after harvest.  As soon as you see these push up a sprout you know it's time to get the garlic in.  This is a great tip as the generic advice is on the shortest day of the year yet we all live in variations of climate, you may be in a micro-climate and this will denote a different time for planting.   Harvesting time Wait until the foliage turns yellow and then you can lift the bulbs.  I like to keep the leaves on so that I can plait a number of bulbs together.  Hang in a cool dry place