Garlic is a popular vegetable for a kitchen garden because it’s so easy to grow! Just plant it in autumn or winter and leave it to its own devices until harvesting next summer. With it’s many uses in the kitchen, there’s no excuse not to plant it now.
Growing best in a sunny site with fertile, well-drained soil. Garlic is an easy vegetable to start with because it can be left to its own devices for most of the year. Buy cloves from a garden centre rather than trying to plant garlic from the supermarket. Those varieties probably won’t be disease-resistant or suited to the British climate.
How to look after me
- Soil: Rich and well-drained
- Position: Sunny
- Location: Outdoors, container
Did You Know?
The American city of Chicago is named after garlic. It comes from ‘shikaakwa’, the Native American word for wild garlic (allium tricoccum).
Growing
- Regularly pull up weeds that appear in the soil, as they can smother the garlic plants
- Generally you do not need to water garlic
- However, if there are any dry spells in spring or early summer, give the plants a good watering
- Do not water once the bulbs have become large and well-formed, as this may cause them to rot
- If any flowers form (this is rare) just snip them off with scissors
Harvesting
- Harvest the bulbs once the leaves have turned yellow
- Carefully lift them out with a hand fork and leave them to dry out in an airy place
- They will store for up to three months
David’s Top Tip
Should you want to plait the garlic stems after harvesting, cut short the drying process.
If the garlic is too dry, the stems will crack and break as you plait them.
David Domoney is a Chartered Horticulturalist, Broadcaster, and Author. David has worked with a number of the UK’s leading garden retailers as a plant buyer and strategic consultant. With more than 30 years experience, in horticulture, David is as passionate about plants now as he was when he bought his first plant at a village fete.
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