Garlic growing

Aah, must have only grown hardnecks then

 

New step son having aquired an allotment in Essex very keen, had been given some Elephant Garlic by another allotment holder. He had just harvested it and roasted It , Keen Cook the lad So being very interested Googled its from the leek family not true garlic, Went on from there to Isle of wight Garlic web site, loads of info impressed I have ordered their Heritage pack to be planted in Oct you can plant in a tub 4ins apart inch deep So it will not be spring flowers in my planters but 4 Varieties of Garlic. Mikulov Wight, Red Duke Wight, Cesnecka Wight, and Topinky Wight, All stock is virus free tested, and am getting really excited about this new venture, I love roasted garlic and raw in salads Our local farmers market always have it, there is also a garlic Festival held on The Isle of Wight
Load of interesting info about super market garlic ie China....our home grown has been bred to flourish in England Anyway thought I would share this with any one who might be interest

 

I've heard some people put garlic bulbs in the freezer for a bit before planting out for this reason. No idea if it really helps or not thought.

 

It would simulate a winter chill and may encourage an early start when planted out, but I would have thought a fridge rather than freezing solid. I freeze garlic for the kitchen and when thawed out it is very soft and spongy and I don't think it would grow.

They are all alliums. This year one of my elephant garlics "forgot" to split so I have a single clove the size of average onion.
In Nepal last year, not far from the Tibet boarder, came across an elderly lady mashing up chillis with a tuberous root that smelt strongly of garlic. This made a ferocious sauce. It turns out that in that in the region there is an allium with tuberous roots used in the same way as garlic.

 

I can't grow in the garden soil due to onion white rot so I grow in flower troughs starting in the polytunnel and moving outside around April. I use a mix of multipurpose compost and my own garden compost.
I've used Tesco bulbs in the past, saving the best for replanting the following year and results were pretty good - but maybe I was lucky. But last year we brought a couple of bulbs back from Greece, planted the cloves and have had a really super crop. We brought a couple of more back last month and I'll be planting again soon.

 

My Isle of Wight garlic (can't remember the exact variety) for planting came like that this year - had about 5 cloves over 2 whole bulbs! I've had to go and get some more from a local garden centre - not such a bad idea to have two varieties anyway.