Garlic

One of the easy craw I have every tried to produce is garlic .   Why ?   Well , first of all , the critters(rabbits , deer , groundhog , and squirrels ) obviate it .   Eveninsects generally ignore it .   Plus ,   garlic hasfew disease and pestproblems . apart from a footling weeding , garlic want verylittle maintenance . And if your love isorganic gardening , it does n’t get any light than acquire constitutional garlic .

One of the joys of growing Allium sativum is that it is out - of - sync with most other vegetable crop ; instead of contribute to the spring planting work load , garlic is planted in the downfall . The taste of fresh homegrown garlic reminds me of the conflict between a homegrown love apple and a tomato from the supermarket . And just like those supermarket tomato , the ail you retrieve in the supermarket is grown for ledge life , not mouthful . Without a doubt , garlic works miracles in the kitchen when added to soups , stews , tomato sauces , salsas , pickle , salads , salad bandaging , marinades , mashed white potato vine , seafood — hey , clam with butter and garlic !   WOW ! One has to search intemperately for a modern formula that has Allium cepa but does not let in garlic . A roast medulla with a mizzle of olive oil and a speck of common salt turns into butter when you spread it over a slice of warm breadstuff . Most James Cook find it indispensable in the kitchen , and these days it is rare to regain a recipe that does not call for garlic .   In fact , a persevering investigator can even feel a dessert formula feature garlic:“Roasted Garlic Chocolate Chip Cookies ” . YUMMMMM ! ! ! !

A BriefHistory of Garlic

Garlic is trust to have originate in themountains of Central Asia , in the present - twenty-four hours counties of Kazakhstan , Uzbekistan , and Turkmenistan . Today ail is found fantastic in Siberia and the side of the Ural Mountains .   Garlic has been cultivated for thousands of year . Egyptian and Indian cultures refer to garlic use date back 5000 year . elaborated models of garlic light bulb were unearthed in thetomb of El Mahasna , in Egypt , dating back 3750 BC . TheBiblesuggests the Israelites may have developed a fondness for ail around 1500 BC — “ We remember the fish , which we did rust in Egypt , the cucumbers , and the melon and the leeks and the onion and thegarlick . ”Numbers 11:5 .

Today garlic ranks second only behind the onionas the 2nd - mostimportantAlliumcrop in the world . A plant , rich in story , that can fight disease , lean blood , quash cholesterin , season a variety of foods , repel worm and vampires and is celebrated annually by thousands of lover at numerous garlic fete thoughtout the rural area merit a bit in the veg garden .

Types of Garlic

There are C of varieties of garlic , but generally , they are categorized intotwo unlike subspeciesor groups : hard - necked ( Allium sativumvar . ophioscorodon ) and soft - make out ( Allium sativumvar.sativum ) . Each group has several distinct mixture and cultivar .

Hardneck Garlic

Hardneck garlic producesa false flower stalkin the leaping called a scape and is also known as “ Top Setting Garlic ” because it produces cluster of small bulb ( “ bulbils ” ) at the end of the shaft after the mostly sterile flowers bloom .   Some garlic expert believe that hardneck garlic has move smack than the more domesticated softneck ail , and it is often referred to as gastronome garlic . Hardneck garlic does not stack away as well as softneck garlic .

There are 3 subcategories of hardneck ail :

Softneck Garlic :

Softneck is believably the variety of garlic that the great unwashed call back of when garlic is mentioned . It ’s found on the grocery store shelf and in garlic gunpowder and salt . The cutis on softneck garlic is soaked on the garlic clove , making it heavy to peel , but protecting it and keep it fresher longer . Softneck garlic is fertile in a wide range of climates and land , out - performs hardnecks in warm climates , and is normally loose to spring up . Commercially grown because of its long computer memory attribute , softneck ail is the sort ordinarily find in supermarket .

There are two major subcategories of softneck ail :

Silverskin : These are the longest lasting of the garlic and usually the last glean . They can be very , very red-hot . This is considered the best variety for braid . Silverskin varieties by and large grow in most areas of the United States and if reap and cured right , can be stored for up to 10 months . Silverskin varieties include Chet ’s Italian Red , Nootka Rose , and Sicilian Silver .

Central Virginia is in a transition geographical zone and both toilsome neck and softneck Allium sativum do sanely well in our sphere . The hardneck varieties that have performed well for me are China Dawn and Red Killarney . Softneck varieties that have performed well in my garden are : Susanville , Polish White , Sicilan and Sicilian .

Elephant Garlic :

Elephant Garlicisnot true garlic ; it go to the scallion ( Allium ampeloprasum)family . In late years elephant Allium sativum has become popular due to the Brobdingnagian size of its bulb and its milder look .

When to Plant Garlic

Garlic is plant in the declination . In our area mid - October is the recommend clip for planting . Garlic requiresa cold treatment period(vernalization ) of 32 - 50 ° F. for about two months to induce bulbing . Garlic can be planted in the spring , but it should be refrigerated first for several weeks . However , small bulbs can be expected if leaping - set , because of the circumscribed growing flow .

Do NOT plant garlic that you purchase from the grocery store , as they may be pathologic and are often treacherous because they may have been treated with an anti - sprouting chemical . There are numerous online retailer that sell constitutional garlic for planting .

Site and Cultural Requirements :

Select a sunny or partly shady location to plant your garlic . effective grease drainage is essential for a good garlic crop . One fashion to improve the drainage is by creating a raised bed before establish .   The soil pH should be between 6.5 and 7.0 . A   light , well - drained soil also reduces the phone number of on an irregular basis - shaped bulb . lend compost or well - rotted manure and mixing it good can improve big mud . Soil should be loosenedto a depth of 6 - 12 inch . A field tribulation transmit by Virginia Techresulted in a 35 percent bulb failure in a no - till athletic field .   equate that to a minimum 5 per centum loss in a schematic tilled field .

Garlic is a heavy nitrogen feeder ; the recommended pace of diligence is30 to 60 pounds per acre . Downsizing that phone number to a manageable garden space of 100 square foot equates to 0.07 to 0.14 pound of nitrogen per 100 square feet . Doing the math for the standard 10 - 10 - 10 fertilizer , that would require approximately 0.68 -1.37 pound of stock fertilizer . An alternative constitutional plant food of cottonseed meal ( 6 - 2 - 2 ) would require some 1.15 -2.3 pounds of cottonseed meal . Because nitrogen is “ unstable ” and run to leach , one of the recommendations when using stock fertilizer is to apply a top dressing in the tardy winter ( February ) and again in March . Cottonseed meal is a dull - release fertilizer , so it may be hold when the garlic is establish and followed up with a top fertilisation again in February .

Garlic is also a heavyuser of phosphate and potassium , and these element should be added , as with other crops , only in accord with a soil test . A freeSoil Test Kitis available at your local Virginia Cooperative Extension Office .

Planting

In general , garlic , like white potato vine , multiplies by vegetative reproduction rather than by sexual reproduction ( germ ) . Individual garlic cloves are plant and each clove them produces a cloned electric-light bulb , having the same transmitted make - up as the original parent .

The planting process begins by cautiously separating the cloves , just before planting , by removing the out bed of papery tegument , and then removing the cloves from the Basil the Great plate ( the flat base where the beginning spring up ) . The papery skin on the individual clove can be left intact . Select only sound , firm , unblemished garlic clove for planting , and aim to use the big cloves usable .   In general , thelarger cloves buckle under the large garlic bulb . Don’t disregard the small cloves — they can be used in the kitchen , or frozen for future culinary uses .

Plant the cloves1 - 2 column inch deepwith the pointed end up . Space the clove 6 - 8 inch apart . Over - crowd the Allium sativum may result in smaller bulbs . Each garlic clove will give way one bulb . When the planting is complete sum about 1 - 2 inch of compost or leaf mold over the planting sphere to foreclose moisture loss .

Maintenance :

Garlic is a hapless competitor , so   honorable weed - control is essential . In general , twilight and winter grass job are minimal , though outflow and summer will bring more weeds .   Applying a couple of inches of mulch such as leaf mold or sporty drinking straw can avail control the weeds . If weeding is required , employ caution to avoid damaging the electric light and beginning .

If you are growing hardneck Allium sativum , you may want to regard removing the scape when it begins to uncoil and neaten out . remove the flower stalk allow the flora to direct its get-up-and-go toward bulb growing rather than bulbils developing . Depending on the cultivar , withdraw the flower stalk can produce25 - 30 percentor more in bulb system of weights .

Garlic requires aboutan in of piss a week(similar to other garden vegetables ) , during the spring develop season . Stop watering the plants about a month before harvest ( when the parting begin to lily-livered ) to keep the papery skin wry and prevent the bulbs from rot or splitting .

During late spring and early summertime ail can be susceptible to the same dirt ball and disease as onions and Allium porrum — thrips and various incandescent lamp putrefaction . However , ail is relatively carefree when develop in a well - drained constitutive grime ( 5 - 10 pct organic matter ) , with adept melody circulation and if you bind to a 2 - 3 year rotation cycle with other vegetables .

Harvesting

Fall - planted garlic grows theme before long after planting , but top growth does not occur until the following spring , and the garlic bulbs are unremarkably ripe by former to mid - summertime .   Knowing when to harvest garlic is like bang when to betray a stock in the store mart . At the oddment of the growing season — early summertime — the bulb are grow at their profligate rate . If the crop is glean too too soon , the incandescent lamp may be undersized , but if glean too late , the slight wrapper that holds the bulb begins to deteriorate and the electric-light bulb itself begins to fall apart . Naturally , most gardeners are esurient , myself include , and want the expectant garlic bulbs possible , leading to that temptation to hold back too long .

Garlic can be harvest in three form : flower stalk , gullible or bulb . In the spring , hardneck garlic grow a shaft . Most gardeners prefer to absent the flower stalk to allow the flora to focalize its vigour on the electric-light bulb . The shaft can be cut off shortly after the flower stalk ringlet . harvest scapes can be used in cooking or salad , providing garlic - tasting greens similar to scallions .

When garlic is harvested before full adulthood , it is referred to as green garlic . Green Allium sativum can be used like green onion in salads or cookery . Bulbs are quick to reap when the leaves beginto yellow or browned and fall over , but there are still 50 % green leave on the plant life . Green leave of absence betoken that the bulbs are still intact and have not begun to break apart . If you wait until all the leaves have turned brown and fallen over , you have waited too long .

I ordinarily dig up a few “ psychometric test bulb ” before I harvest to break the housecoat .   If they are in secure configuration , I wait a few more days and dig a few more .

When you pull the trigger and set out to glean , cautiously loosen the soil around the bulb to minimize damage . The taste is to labour up the garlic medulla rather than pulling it out . I am often amazed at the depth of the garlic bulb and the bit of roots that have developed . Shake off the excess soil , keeping the wrapper intact . With more of the wrapper in place , the garlic will store longer . Do not wash out the bulbs as that may encourage the growth of fungus and dilute the shelf life of the bulb .

Curing and salt away

heal the harvested Allium sativum will extend the shelf liveliness of the lightbulb and strengthen its flavour . To cure the garlic , link up into lot and hang in a shady , cool ironic and well - ventilated location for 4 to 6 weeks . I often use a fan to increase the ventilation .

Once the bulbs have been cure , I sort the ail , I save the heavy bulbs to be plant the undermentioned descent , and the remnant I store in a dark well - ventilated country . I apply a homemade screen that hangs in the basement and it turn well .

Garlic is a seed savers ’ delight .   There ’s no pauperization to worry about cross - pollenation because what you save and flora is a clon of the parent plant life . In increase , garlic adapts to its environment , so the more seasons you engraft your saved Allium sativum in the same microclimate , the good it performs . I have acknowledge that after about the quaternary year , the garlic appears to become happy with its new household and I am honour with expectant bulbs .

What ’s not to care about maturate your own garlic ? It will be fresher and tastier than those plant in the supermarket , you ’ll have hundreds of varieties to choose from — way more than what is available in the supermarket ,   pests mostly leave it alone , and other than a little weeding and periodic watering , it ’s upkeep - complimentary . On top of all that , because garlic adapts to local stipulation , you ’ll have the reward of being able to keep your own ail and plant it year after year do it each yr your craw will get a slight better .

Thanks for fall in us in The Garden Shed this calendar month . We hope you will see again next month .

Cited Sources :

“ Roasted Garlic Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe,”Mother Earth Living ( July - August , 2004)http://www.motherearthliving.com / food - and - recipe / summer - formula / roast - garlic - chocolate - chip - biscuit - recipe - zmoz04jazmel.aspx

“ Glorious Garlic , Herb of the Year 2004 , ” Virginia Cooperative Extension , Publication 2906 - 1360,pubs.ext.vt.edu/2906/2906 - 1360

“ The origins and statistical distribution of garlic : How many garlics are there ? ”   United States Department of Agriculture , http://www.ars.usda.gov / Research / docs.htm?docid=5232

“ Garlic Production , ” North Carolina State University , ncsu.edu / garlicproduction

“ Soil Sampling for the Home Gardner , ” Virginia Cooperative Extension , Publication 452 - 129,http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/452/452 - 129/452 - 129.html

“ Garlic Productivity and Profitability as Affected by Seed Clove Size , Planting Density and Planting Method ” HortScience , vol . 39 no . 6 , pp . 1272 - 1277 ( Oct. 2004)hortsci.ashspublications.org

“ No - till Organic Culture of Garlic Utilizing Different Cover Crop Residues and Straw Mulch for Over - wintering Protection Under Two Seasonal Levels of Organic Nitrogen , ”   Virginia Cooperative Extension , publishing 2906-1389https://pubs.ext.vt.edu/2906/2906-1389

“ rise Garlic , ” University of Vermont Extension ’s Vermont Vegetable and Berry Program , http://www.uvm.edu / vtvegandberry / factsheets / Garlic.html

“ fourth dimension to Plant Garlic ” Virginia Cooperative Extension ( Bratsch Tony),https://pubs.ext.vt.edu/2906/2906 - 1347

Garlic – An Herb Society of America Guide(The Herb Society of America , 2004 ) ( pp . 16 - 18)https://pubs.ext.vt.edu/2906/2906 - 1347/2906 - 1347.html