Successes and
Failures of Growing Garlic
Of course this is the most wonderful
herb/spice/health giving plant throughout the ages and included in the diets of
so many cultures. It is related to the onion, shallot, leek family – alliums
and is susceptible to the pests and diseases which affect these plants.
Throughout the ages this has been used as a culinary
and medicinal plant and was used to maintain health during the plague, as well
as to ward off evil spirits, vampires, the evil eye and various spells.
Whatever your
perspective on growing garlic this is surely one of the most important
vegetables / herbs/ spices we can grow in our gardens and allotments.
However, it is important to choose a suitable
variety for our ground and our climate.
My preference is for autumn planted garlic cloves
but if you are taking that route do think of the varieties you are choosing.
I always plant my garlic bulbs in the autumn – late
October onto early November. Of course, you must choose a variety which is
suitable for autumn planting. Check on the suggestions from producers and
providers and consider what they are suggesting.
It has been said that, like onions, autumn sown
garlic will not ‘keep’ into the winter. However, I have always planted my garlic
in the autumn and finish off my saved crop in the following spring’s preserves.
Planting
Garlic
Of course, you can buy your garlic bulbs from the
local supermarket and plant those as your ‘seed’ – and this may be cheaper.
However, you are unlikely to know the variety or where they have come from. Are
they suitable for your ground and/or your climate. They may well have come from
a different part of the world and be totally unsuitable for your conditions and
may well come with their own pests and diseases. Really, my advice is to buy
good quality, certified stock with advice on flavour, season for planting and
suitability to your climate and conditions.
The ground for planting should be well worked to
give a good deep tilth [ of course, on land like mine, this is difficult if not
impossible as I am growing on fairly heavy clay].
Divide each bulb into its individual cloves without,
if possible, removing the outer skin of each clove. The individual cloves
should be planted at a depth of 3 – 4 cm [1½inches]. In some places, on much
lighter soil, this should be a bit deeper but on heavy clay, like mine I
usually plant fairly close to the surface. The bulbs should be 12 - 15cm [5 -6
inches] apart in rows 15cm [ 6 inches] apart – allowing room to hoe between rows
without damaging the bulbs. It is important to keep the garlic bed free from
weeds through the growing season.
Varieties
of Garlic
There are so many varieties available now on the
market, it is important to look at the different varieties available where you
are living and what the local suppliers and garden centres recommend for your
soil type and growing conditions.
Of course, I have found that different varieties
work better in each year when the weather and climate can change the growing
conditions. Until this season, I had always grown Solent Wight and Purple Wight
which had always given me a reasonable crop on one of these varieties. This
year, I decided to look for different varieties and, after reading all the
flavour, growing and ground peculiarities of each crop, I chose Messidrome,
Champion White and Champion Purple – all autumn planting varieties. All of
these plants were attacked by ‘leek rust’ late in the season [an endemic
disease which will always affect my crops – when it attacks the growth will
stop so, the later the attack the better the crop. On an allotment situation,
this is impossible to control – without some nasty chemicals. However, away
from other allium crops and in an environment where you can control the
diseases, I am sure this would not be a problem.]
The leek rust was late this year, probably because
of a fairly dry spring. I harvested my garlics during early June and left them
on raised grids until they had dried well before I took them home. The
Messidrome and the Champion Purple have been spectacular – I could not have
bought anything better in any market. Although, the Champion White bulbs were
okay the bulbs did not fatten up as I would have liked. Of course, I understand
that weather conditions are always relevant and perhaps, next year, the results
will be different. I think I will try these three varieties again next year.
Really there are always problems. As I have said in
previous blogs, there is a problem with ‘white rot in onions’ on our allotment
field. For this reason I had stopped growing onions [with white rots, it is
important that no alliums are grown on this ground for 9 years – onions, leeks,
garlic, spring onions, shallots, etc].
This year, I did find a few bulbs had been affected
by the dreaded ‘white rot’ – disappointing though not unexpected. Next year, I
must find a different area to plant them.
Nutritional
Value of Garlic
Dietary Fibre – 11%, Carbohydrate 15% Protein 17%
Vitamin C -
71% Thiamin 18% Vit B6 84%
Riboflavin
- 9% Calcium 25% Iron 13%
Phosphorus
- 21% Potassium 16% Zinc 11%
Manganese -
114% Selenium 28%
Harvesting
and Storing
When or if the garlic plants are affected by leek
rust, the plants will stop growing and they can then be harvested. If they have
not been affected then the tops of the plants, like onions will cease to grow
and the tops of the plants will turn over, indicating that they are no longer
growing. Dig up the plants and lay them out on the ground or on a suitable grid
to allow the top growth to dry out for several days at least, in warm dry
weather or, hang them up in a dry environment – a dry, frost-free shed for
example
Weave the garlics into plaits or bunches to allow
them to dry out so that they will survive the winter.
Store in a cool dry place over winter – they should
last until next year’s crop is ready [assuming you have grown enough!]
Elephant
Garlic
This plant, although called a garlic and smells
vaguely of garlic is not a garlic. It is more closely related to the leek
family – although, of course, they are all of the Allium species.
I have grown Elephant Garlic as I was given one of
the huge bulbs a couple of years ago to try. This is expensive to buy and
although as easy to grow as garlic, for me it has a disappointingly mild
flavour. Perhaps for those who are so keen on the pungent aroma and flavour of
a strong garlic, they are very suitable. For me, a good flavoursome garlic is
an essential in my kitchen and I always peruse the catalogues for those
varieties which have a robust flavour, will grow well on my ground and in my allotment
conditions and will store well.
Next
Season
Although I have planted 4 bulbs each of three
different varieties and the harvest has been good, I think perhaps, when I have
given many of these away to members of my family and used many more in my
preserves, I should have planted twice as much. But, which varieties?
