Growing GARLIC

Allium sativum

If you are growing garlic for the first time, it is important to source stock that has been bred specifically for growing. You’ll get better results than buying garlic from the shops. It can be sown in either spring (March) or Autumn (October/November), so choose the variety that fits your requirements.

I favour Autumn sown garlic, as it overwinters well and benefits from the longer season. I always save garlic bulbs from the previous year, selecting the best specimens for replanting. It’s important to store garlic heads in a cool dark place to halt growth until planting. Simply split the head of garlic into cloves and push into the soil of a well-drained and prepared seed bed, allowing about 20cm between cloves. I would advise submerging each clove completely, leaving none of it above the soil surface - birds can come along and pull them all out again… very annoying!

Your garlic should put on a couple of inches of growth before the end of the year, stopping once the really cold weather comes; as I understand it, the frost encourages the head to split and is important for the formation of great garlic. This early start will give you garlic to harvest in June the following year.

Harvest time is preceded by the flower spike, or scape, emerging from the stem. It is important to remove the scape because leaving it can cause the bulb to become woody. Luckily, garlic scapes are quite a delicacy and are delicious griddled like asparagus on the barbecue.