Growing Garlic

garlic Growing Garlic Growing Garlic is the best way to experience the awesome tastes and flavors not found in the grocery store. Garlic is a bulbous plant with more than 600 varieties being grown around the world. The variation is most likely a result of natural mutations. Many have claimed that Garlic possess many medical attributes including treating wounds, fighting infections, and the ability to lower cholesterol and simulate the immune system. There are three components to Garlic taste the flavor, the heat, and the aftertaste. It is a close relative of onions, shallots, chives, and leeks and goes dormant in the winter. Unlike the onion that produces one large bulb.

Garlic is composed of many small divisions covered in a thin white skin called cloves, which vary in number from 3 to 40, depending on cultivar, growing conditions and maturity of the bulb. The outer leaf is dry while the inner leaf is thicker making up the bulk of the clove. The best cloves come from the large outer cloves. Garlic has a flat leaf unlike the round leaves of onions. Garlic can be organized into two basic types Softneck and Hardneck varieties.

Hardneck or ophloscorodon:

This is also called Rocambole garlic. It produces a hard flower stalk that makes a spiral coil called a scape, then forms a cluster of bulbils (small bulbs) at its tip. It is the most winter hardy garlic and milder in taste and easier to peel than the Softneck.It is difficult to braid because of the woody scape. It also does not store as well as the Softneck variety and can start to dry out a few months after harvesting. You can increase bulb size by up to 30% by pinching off the scapes. Hardnecks are further classified into three divisions The Purple Stripe, Porcelain, and Rocambole varities.

hardneck-garlic Growing Garlic

1. Rocambole is the most common hardneck. It has a parchment skin which peels easy but will not store well. It is the type with the curling scape. Many people rate Rocambole as having the best flavor.

2. Purple Striped is a striped garlic but that is the only typical feature. The tastes of each will vary from mild to pungent.

3. Porcelain garlic produces a large plump bulb with only a couple of fat cloves. They have a very thick outer skin and store very well.

Softneck or sativum

These garlic bulbs were developed from Hardnecks to be grown in warmer climates. They have necks so soft the harvested plants are easy to braid into a rope of bulbs. It is the strongest-flavored garlic and stores the best. Most garlic you buy at the grocery store is the Softneck variety. Softnecks are further classified into Artichoke and Silverskin varities.

softneck-garlic Growing Garlic

1. Artichoke garlic is the most grown commercial garlic. It can be hard to peel but stores well. This is the most likely one you will buy at the grocery store.

2. Silverskin garlic has a silvery white skin and has many small cloves. It has a strong neck making it good for braiding. They also have a stronger flavor than the Artichoke variety.

The best varieties to grow depend on personal taste, environment and gardening skill. Try some different varieties until you find some that suit you best.

When selecting the site for growing garlic you need a field which has not recently had onions grown or that does not have a weed problem since garlic is not good at fighting competition. The site needs full sun and well-drained soil with lots of organic matter. Heavy soil will make the bulbs hard to clean and will hinder bulb growth. The P.H. needs to be in the 6 to 7.5 range as garlic does best with a slightly higher P.H. Garlic needs proper soil preparation with a tiller or by hand turning the first six to twelve inches to help it penetrate into the ground which is needed for its growth. Garlic also takes up to eight weeks to mature so it needs a location where it will not be disturbed.