Like most folks, my garden consists of the all the staples year after year. Sometimes, though, it’s just fun to try something new, so my sister and I try at least one new and different plant each year. Last year it was eggplant (new for me) and she tried peanuts.
This year, by happenstance, it was garlic for me. Ron’s son Rodney gave me some bulbs last fall and said that was when to plant them. So, I did plant them and forgot about them until they sprung up this spring. I was amazed at how easy they are to raise and I also found that garlic has a few surprising twists of its own.
First and foremost, it is a super food. For centuries, people have used garlic not only to season food but to reap its health benefits. Although there are garlic supplements, the best way to release its health happy power is to cut the cloves then to eat them. This turns garlic’s thio-sulfinite compounds into allicin, a powerful antibiotic and antifungal that reduces bad cholesterol because it inhibits enzymes from growing in liver cells.
The allicin also helps release nitric oxide in blood vessels, which relaxes them and lowers blood pressure. The bulbs are packed with potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium, manganese, zinc, selenium, beta carotene and other trace minerals. It is also rich in Vitamins C and B6 and it’s low in calories. So, what’s not to love…besides garlic breath!
I found a little history on our tasty friend. There is even a National Garlic Day, April 19. Technically, garlic is a vegetable rather than an herb. It belongs to the onion family, alongside leeks, shallots and chives. China produces about two-thirds of the world’s garlic, about 46 billion pounds each year. It has been cultivated in the Mediterranean for over 5000 years.
Besides being healthy and adding zest to dishes, crushed garlic cloves make a good glue. It is especially good for fragile items like glass. Who would have guessed that!
It’s no wonder that something so popular is also steeped in superstition. Bram Stoker introduced the concept of vampires being repelled by garlic in 1897 in his novel “Dracula.” This idea stemmed from garlic’s many medicinal properties, particularly as a mosquito repellant. Brides carry a clove for good luck to keep evil away and it is placed in homes for the same reason.
Garlic is not only good for you but it is also easy and fun to grow.
GARLIC VARIETIES
Garlic is only one of 700 species in the allium or onion family and all alliums are members of the lily and amaryllis family. There are three main types of garlic, hardneck, softneck and elephant garlic.
Softneck garlic is what you usually find in grocery stores. This type has lots of cloves ranging in size from tiny to large. This variety stores the longest and keeps the best. It is best suited to temporate climates with mild weather. It is the type that can be braided that you see hanging in Italian restaurants.
Hardneck varieties have fewer cloves but they are more uniform in size. The flavor is stronger and they can’t be braided. Hardnecks grow best in climates with harsher winters and they are the cold hardy type. They also have only a shelf life of about six months.
Elephant garlic is so named because of its size. It is usually a leek and has the mildest flavor of the three varieties. It stores well but also doesn’t braid.
HOW TO PLANT GARLIC
Softneck varieties are planted in spring and harvested that first season whereas hardneck varieties are planted in the fall before the first frost. Be sure and purchase your first cloves from a nursery or greenhouse because the ones found in stores are usually sprayed with a growth inhibitor to retard sprouting on shelves.
Break the bulbs apart and plant individual cloves. Plant them a half inch deep and two to four inches apart in the row, pointed side up.
That’s about it, plant them and forget them until they sprout in the spring. They need six to eight months for good growth.
Garlic is beneficial for many garden plants, fruit trees and roses. Nightshade vegetables such as tomatoes, eggplant and peppers and brassica family plants like cabbage, broccoli, kale and cauliflower also enjoy having garlic nearby because many rodents are repelled by its odor. So, be sure and interplant your garlic with these plants.
GARLIC BULBILS
When garlic scapes are left to mature, garlic bulbils are formed. They are the round “bulbs” in the middle of the stalks that contain the seeds. These seeds can be planted as well as the bulbs themselves. However, garlic plants grown from these bulbils require two years before they produce.
HARVESTING GARLIC
Garlic is ready to harvest when
the leaves start to turn brown and begin to die back. Be sure and not pull the
plant, but rather dig under the bulb to get the whole plant.
Place the plants in a well-ventilated area and allow to dry for three to four weeks. They are cured when most all of the leaves are dry. At this point, cut the tops off, leaving at least an inch attached to the bulb. If you have left the scapes to mature, this is the time to also harvest the seeds.
Store the bulbs in a cool, dry place in a mesh bag or open box where they can get plenty of air. They are ready to break apart and use the individual cloves for cooking or save some back to plant the following year.
People are returning to homegrown and homemade foods and health remedies as traditional natural remedies in nature and foods become common knowledge. This is how it’s supposed to be and how it was before we traded wholesome for modern convenience. Garlic fits right in here, as a wholesome food and a natural medicine. It has definitely earned its place in everyone’s garden.
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