Plant: mid October to December, Spring
Harvest: June to August
Essential for Mediterranean cooking and very healthy, garlic is a worthwhile addition to any vegetable patch. It likes a sunny site and fertile soil so dig in compost or general purpose fertilizer when planting.
Planting
Use proper seed cloves from a garden centre or mail order supplier as supermarket cloves may not be suitable.
Break up the bulbs and plant individual cloves just below the soil surface 15cm/6 in apart in rows 30cm/12in apart.
Although some varieties can be planted in spring, most are best planted in late autumn or early winter.
Growing
Weed the patch but watering is not necessary. Snip off any flowers.
Harvesting
The green leaves can be picked and used like chives. Harvest the bulbs after the leaves turn yellow. Lift them carefully with a fork, shake off the soil and lay them out to dry in a well-ventilated place. Any cloves that form on the stalk can be used in the same way as the normal cloves.
Troubleshooting
Cover with horticultural fleece if birds dig up your cloves. If your crop suffers from rust spots on the foliage or white rot in the roots, avoid growing garlic and other onion family crops in the same place for a few years.
Varieties to try
- Arno - July-cropping variety that stores well
- Early Wight - very early cropping (May), best used immediately
- Solent Wight - attractive, purple-skinned cloves, high yield and stores well
- Echo - late cropping with good fat cloves with a milder flavour
- Long Keeper - good-sized cloves and a high yield
