Garlic | Uses and Cultivation of Garlic

Garlic

Also known as Clove Garlic. From the family Liliaceae.

Garlic originates from India or Central Asia and is one of the oldest and most valued of plants. In Greek legend, Odysseus used Moly, a wild garlic, as a charm to keep the sorceress, Circe, from turning him into a pig. The Egyptians used it medicinally. Both the slaves constructing the pyramid of Cheops and the Roman soldiers were given garlic cloves daily to sustain their strength. It was probably the Romans who introduced it into Britain. The common name is said to have been derived from the Anglo-Saxon 'leac', meaning pot herb and 'gar', a lance, after the shape of the stem.

The term for 'leper' in the Middle Ages was 'pilgarlic' because the leper had to peel his own. During the First World War, spaghnum moss was soaked in garlic juice as an antiseptic wound dressing. An old country remedy for whooping cough was to put a clove of garlic in the shoes of the whooper.

A tradition still held in rural New Mexico is that garlic will help a young girl rid herself of an unwanted boyfriend.

Species

Allium sativum

Garlic

Hardy perennial grown as an annual. Ht 40-60cm (16-24in). A bulb made up of several cloves (bulblets) enclosed in white papery skin. The cloves vary in color from white to pink. Green leaves. White or pink round flower head. Only flowers in warm climates.

Allium oleraceum

Field Garlic

Hardy perennial, bulbous plant. Ht up to 84cm (33in). Pink summer flowers.

Cultivation

Propagation

Plant the bulbs direct in the ground.

Pests and Diseases

Susceptible to white rot, which causes yellowing of the foliage and white fungal growth on the bulbs. Remove infected plants and avoid using this ground again for garlic.

Maintenance

Spring: Plant the first month into spring. Feed with liquid fertilizer.

Summer: Potash dress garden plants. Dig up bulbs.

Autumn: Plant cloves.

Winter: Protect if the temperature falls below -15°C (5°F).

Garden Cultivation

Plant in full sun, in rich, light and well drained soil from early end-autumn to early spring. Traditionally garlic cloves are planted on the shortest day of the year and harvested on longest. Split the bulb into the cloves and plant individually, pointed end up, into holes 2cm (1in) deep and 15cm (6in) apart. Keep well watered. They will be well matured in summer when the top growth starts to change color and keel over. Tying the stems in a knot is said to increase the size of the cloves.

Harvest

Ease the bulbs out of the ground when the leaves die down and lose their greenness (mid-late summer). Dry in the sun for a few days if possible, but indoors if there is a danger of rain. Hang them up in a string bag, or plait them into a garlic string. Store somewhere cool and airy.

Container growing

In the spring place a number of individual cloves in a pot (tip up) and position on a sunny windowsill. Feed with liquid fertilizer regularly and harvest the green leaves as one would chives.

Companion planting

Garlic, it is said, helps to prevent leaf curl in trees, especially peaches. Also, when planted next to roses it wards off black spot.

Other uses

Its juice acts as an insect repellent and neutralizes the poisons of bites and stings. It is an excellent glue and also enables holes to be made cleanly in glass. Simply crush a clove, rub it onto the glass and let it dry; then cut or drill the hole.

Culinary

Garlic is a very pungent but in dispensible culinary herb. In spring the flavor is lively but from summertime onwards, cloves should be split in half and the green filaments and sheath enclosing them discarded to make the garlic more digestible. Whole bulbs may be divided into cloves and roasted under a joint of lamb, and slivers of garlic inserted under the surface of meat. The longer garlic is cooked, the milder the flavor.

A peeled clove may be left to stand in a vinaigrette and then discarded before the dressing of the salad. Alternatively, rub a clove around the salad bowl.

Whole cloves flavor bottles of olive oil or wine vinegar. Garlic butter is a traditional accompaniment to snails.

The Orientals, particularly the Chinese, are great lovers of garlic. Their solution to garlic breath is to offer pods of cardamom seeds to chew at the end of a meal. You may prefer to eat parsley or basil, mint or thyme, all of which reduce the aroma on the breath.