Along with tomatoes, garlic are a really rewarding vegetable to grow. Homegrown garlic has a flavour which you just can get from the garlic you find in the supermarkets. Besides tasting great, garlic has many added medicinal values and has shown to benefit those with high cholesterol, blood pressure and is a cancer fighter. So rather than buying imported garlic which is treated with Methyl Bromide are at the supermarket, try growing your own! Now is the ideal time to get your garlic going.
Origins - Garlic is a close relative of the onion. Garlic has been used for thousands of years in many diverse cultures for both culinary and medicinal purposes. Its actual origin is not known but it is thought to have originally developed in central Asia, but has been used in Egypt in 3000 BC and later in Pakistan, and Western India, and later introduced to the ‘New World’ by the Spanish, Portuguese and French.
Planting - Source locally grown organic garlic from a grower, organic grocer or on-line. Imported garlic is treated with Methyl Bromide to increase its shelf life. Garlic cloves are planted with the pointy end up, approximately 7 to 8cm deep in rich well drained soil. Keep the plants well watered and fertilised through the growing season.
Companions - Plant garlic with roses and fruit, as garlic repels aphids. Don’t plant with peas and beans.
Management - Garlic doesn’t like competition so keep the plants well weeded. When the leaves start to yellow and die off, reduce watering as this will encourage fungal disease and reduce shelf life. Garlic is harvested in late November or early October, once the majority of the leaves die. Bulbs can be lifted and hung to dry for 2 weeks. As the bulbs dry, the skin will harden to increase the storage life.
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