How many recipes include garlic? Part of the allium family, its cousins are onions, chives and leeks. Garlic can be added to dishes when ground, crushed or sliced. Whole garlic cloves are delicious roasted where their taste sweetens and texture becomes creamy. They are easy to grow and even easier to harvest. There are many methods of storing them, allowing you to continue using garlic for months.
10 reasons to grow garlic
- Easy to handle as you simply plant each bulb, either in the ground or start them off in trays.
- Bulbs sprout quickly.
- You can grow approximately 20 garlic plants in a 1-metre square area.
- Low maintenance, they just need watering in periods of drought.
- They can be stored for many months.
- Choice of when to plant them – either in Oct/Nov or Feb for harvesting in June/July.
- To store, they can be plaited and hung up, frozen or dried.
- They are easy to prepare for cooking – just peel and chop/slice/crush.
- They can be roasted which gives a sweeter taste and creamy texture.
- They bring flavour to many meals, plus they contain antioxidants that benefit health.
Our garlic last year – what we did
We planted our garlic bulbs in module trays late September. Then planted the sprouting garlic outside on 15th October and left them to grow. As the weather warmed up during dry periods, we watered them weekly. By late May, they were starting to turn a little yellow, which is a sign that they need harvesting soon. By early June, they were all looking very yellow so after carefully digging down to feel the bulbs, we decided they were ready to pull.
On 6th June, we harvested all the garlic and hung them up to dry in our workshop at home. Once the bulb’s outer layer looks papery, they are ready for storing. You can eat them as soon as you harvest them if you wish.
We harvested over 500g of garlic cloves from plants grown in a 2-metre square area. These will easily last us a year.
Recommended varieties: Casablanca (white hardneck)
How you can grow garlic
What you’ll need:
- Garlic bulbs (red or white, or both)
- Watering can or jug
- Seed module trays, if starting in trays first
What you’ll do:
- Buy some garlic bulbs from a garden centre or shop (you can use supermarket-bought bulbs but they may not grow well if grown in a warmer climate).
- Separate the bulbs into individual cloves but do NOT remove the papery skin.
- In September or October, plant each clove in a seed tray module and water. Once they are a couple of inches tall, plant them outside spaced about 20cm apart. Alternatively, plant cloves directly in the ground in October or November.
- Water every week, but only in periods of drought.
Caring for garlic
When the sprouts are very small, sometimes birds will pull them out of the ground, mistaking them for worms. Just replant them if this happens.
As the garlic grows and the weather warms up, you may notice that a few have started growing a hard central stem. If this happens then simply break off the stem low down to stop the garlic from flowering (or bolting). That garlic won’t grow a stem again.
Occasional watering is all that garlic needs, but reduce the watering as they start to turn yellow in spring/summer.
Harvesting garlic
When very yellow, carefully scrape away the soil around one or two of the underground bulbs and feel with your bare hands if the individual cloves are forming. You need to feel for protruding segments rather than one smooth round bulb.
Keep checking regularly and, as soon as you feel individual cloves, dig them up by carefully loosening the surrounding soil with a garden fork. Be careful not to damage the bulb underground.
Bunch the garlic plants together and tie string around the top. For a couple of weeks, hang them in a cool, airy, dry place such as a shed, cellar or garage.
Problems
As long as you water them in periods of drought and keep them dry during storage, you shouldn’t encounter any problems.
Storing garlic
You can hang, freeze and dry garlic so it will last you for months. Find out the pros and cons of these three methods of storing garlic.
Tip: when cooking garlic, leave for 10 minutes after crushing before exposing it to any heat. This gives enough time for the healthy compound allicin to form and remain intact during cooking.
