Organic Garlic Flavor

Garlic: Flavor
allium sativum

We dispatch garlic from September to December for Autumn planting varieties and September to February for Spring planting varieties, (stocks permitting). You can pre order. Our garlic is inspected and certified seed grade garlic. Garlic is an allium, in the same family as onions, shallots, leeks and chives. Most varieties are Autumn sown although Cledor, which can be sown in the Autumn can also go in up until February. Garlic can be divided into soft neck and hard neck. Hard neck varieties put up a tall, rigid flower stalk or scape, hence the term hard neck, soft neck varieties do not and are better for plaiting. You might also hear the terms wet and dry garlic. Wet garlic is just very freshly harvested while dry garlic has been stored.

White bulb with 9-16 cloves, suitable for planting in autumn but more often planted from January to March for July harvest. Keeps well. Virus free. Soft neck variety.

 Grade 40-55mm. Approximately 250 cloves and 19 bulbs per Kg. Please note this is an estimate and will vary depending on the grade and the season.

Please note: Garlic is dispatched between September and December.

How to grow:
Plant in the allium section of your rotation. Garlic will do best in a rich but free draining soil in full sun. Prepare the growing site well adding compost or well rotted manure. Dig holes with a trowel about 5cm deep and 15cm apart. Separate the cloves and plant them pointed end up and cover with soil so that the clove is just beneath the level of the ground. 15cm distance will be just enough to be able to hoe between without damaging the new bulbs and this will keep them weed free. Garlic will be ready to harvest from late June onward depending on variety and growing conditions. You can see how big they are growing and look out for the tops dying back to let you know it’s time to did them up. If possible choose a dry sunny day to harvest your garlic. Put the bulbs in an airy place to dry. Once dry brush off the soil and trim the roots. Eat it fresh or get it ready to store. You will need soft neck garlic if you want to plait it, keep the stems long for this. Otherwise trim the stalks and store in nets or basket. Garlic will store through the autumn and early winter.

Pests and diseases:
Garlic is easy to grow. In damper areas rust can be a problem. This shortens the growing period and spoils the leaves but the bulbs are still OK to use.

How to cook:
Garlic has been grown and used for thousands of years as a culinary and medicinal plant. It is widely grown throughout Asia, North Africa, South America and Southern Europe. The flavour is pungent, hot and sharp when raw and milder when cooked. Garlic is used extensively in so many dishes but here are some examples of how to cook it. First divide into individual cloves, remove the papery outer skin and cut off the root. Garlic is usually crushed and many different types of garlic presses are available, otherwise just chop it finely. Make your own garlic butter, add it to tomato sauces for pizza and pasta, put it in pesto, hummus, tzatziki, salsa and guacamole and your home made curry pastes. Make garlic mushrooms or roast it as individual cloves or whole bulbs.