Enjoy a whiff of success, with garlic
These pungent bulbs have been flavouring our food since Roman times. Helen Billiald explains why it’s worth making space for a row or two
These pungent bulbs have flavoured our food since Roman times. Here’s why it’s worth making space for a row or two
There’s a whiff of ‘old magic’ to garlic. Spend a little time pounding cloves in a pestle and mortar and you’ll discover one of the best spirit-lifting activities around. Lauded for being antibacterial, antifungal, cholesterollowering, mineral-rich and moodlifting, there’s much to be said for this gutsy member of the allium family. Native to Central Asia, garlic has worked its way around our planet, becoming an essential global ingredient. Can you imagine bruschetta or pesto without these precious cloves? Or, an Asian broth without the pairing of garlic with ginger? While dried garlic cloves are a year-round ingredient, the plants also offer early green shoots to use like spicy chives, sturdy flower stalks (scapes) for stir fries, and the very first mild ‘green’ garlic of early May. Pop a single garlic clove into the soil this winter and come summer you’ll be digging up a whole bulb – a generous multiplying trick if ever there was one. To be sure of a good crop, give plants sunshine, fertile soil and good drainage. A patch of ground that enjoyed the application of extra compost or well-rotted manure earlier this year would be perfect. Otherwise, lightly fork through some compost now. They dislike ground that’s too acidic, so if your soil is
below pH 6.5, add some lime to push things in the right direction.
It might seem strange to be planting in the darkest months but garlic has a joyful way of kickstarting the growing year. Plants need at least a month below 10C (50F) to crop well. The wealth of cultivars for sale can be confusing but there are several terms worth understanding. Cultivars tend to be divided into autumn planting (late-September to mid-December) or spring planting (in reality January to March); a few can be planted at either time. Autumn planting tends to give bigger crops, but spring planting helps those who struggle with heavier clay soil because the cloves are less likely to rot off.
Hardneck or softneck?
The other term you’ll come across is ‘hardneck’ and ‘softneck’. As a rule, hardneck cultivars don’t store so well (typically not past winter) and have fewer but larger cloves that are more pungent and flavoursome. They also produce flower stalks around mid-May as part of their normal growth. It’s important to remove these since bulbs continue to swell once they’ve been snipped away, but they’re a kitchen delicacy and if you try sautéeing them in butter you’ll agree it’s hardly a problem. Softnecks by comparison tend to store well, have plenty of cloves to a bulb and only throw up a flower spike if the plant becomes stressed. Softnecks are the ones to pick if you have visions of plaiting together a string of garlic at the end of summer. Whatever cultivar you choose, make sure you buy garlic from a reliable source that has been bred to suit our climate; vital if you live in cooler parts of the country. For this reason don’t be tempted to plant up supermarket bulbs, which won’t necessarily be disease or virus-free either.
As garlic grows, keep it weed free and well watered. In February plants benefit from a boost with a mineral-rich fertiliser. The Garlic Farm (www.thegarlicfarm.co. uk) recommends sulphate of potash and supplies a specific garlic fertiliser. After harvesting, clear away any crop debris and take care to rotate your garlic (and other alliums), allowing at least three years without a crop from this family to help keep on top of pests and diseases. ✿