I grow giant garlic - these were my best bulbs from last years crop. I saved them to plant this year and yes, that's my foot! Useually five to seven cloves to a bulb and Oh! each clove as large as my big toe.
I started to grow this type of garlic because it's great to cook with. I'm a lazy cook and these are the perfect size and strengh for me to be able to use one clove at a time. The big, mild and sweet cloves peel really easy and keep well. Much less work in the kitchen and I'm still useing my store from last year.
This photo is the biggest and best of last years bulbs, I split these into single cloves and planted them in October for this years crop which will be coming out of the ground later this month.
I love them. In the garden they are strong bold plants that look similar to leeks (same family) and always look good in the garden in early spring when everything else is dormant. Totally trouble free and once in the ground, almost no work at all.
This year I'm trying an experiment. Its common practise to take off the flowers when they form. The word is that removing the flowers gives a bigger crop. I'm testing this - I've kept the flowers on a few of the plants to see if flowering really does effects the bulb size.
I'm interested to find out. The three plants I've left with the flowers are still growing, when all the others are dieing back as is normal this time of year. I would usually be pulling them up on a hot day later this month.
The flower colour is a sort of soft pinky white - nothing special, but at four foot high the colour isn't really the point and the bees love them! I'm hoping there not much difference in bulb size - I'd love to have the flowers. 35 of these four foot pompoms all together in a bed would be a fantastic sight.
Soft neck garlic is really easy to grow in the South West England climate and gives a good crop even when we have a wet summer. I always grow far more than I can ever use and give some as Christmas presents every year - everyone loves them!
.JPG) |
| White soft neck garlic and Karen's foot |
I started to grow this type of garlic because it's great to cook with. I'm a lazy cook and these are the perfect size and strengh for me to be able to use one clove at a time. The big, mild and sweet cloves peel really easy and keep well. Much less work in the kitchen and I'm still useing my store from last year.
This photo is the biggest and best of last years bulbs, I split these into single cloves and planted them in October for this years crop which will be coming out of the ground later this month.
I love them. In the garden they are strong bold plants that look similar to leeks (same family) and always look good in the garden in early spring when everything else is dormant. Totally trouble free and once in the ground, almost no work at all.
.JPG) |
| Soft neck garlic flowers |
This year I'm trying an experiment. Its common practise to take off the flowers when they form. The word is that removing the flowers gives a bigger crop. I'm testing this - I've kept the flowers on a few of the plants to see if flowering really does effects the bulb size.
I'm interested to find out. The three plants I've left with the flowers are still growing, when all the others are dieing back as is normal this time of year. I would usually be pulling them up on a hot day later this month.
The flower colour is a sort of soft pinky white - nothing special, but at four foot high the colour isn't really the point and the bees love them! I'm hoping there not much difference in bulb size - I'd love to have the flowers. 35 of these four foot pompoms all together in a bed would be a fantastic sight.
 |
| One of the flowering garlic |
Soft neck garlic is really easy to grow in the South West England climate and gives a good crop even when we have a wet summer. I always grow far more than I can ever use and give some as Christmas presents every year - everyone loves them!
.JPG) |
| A garlic twist ready to hang in the greenhouse to dry |
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