Heritage Garlic

The best dishes contain garlic!

Elephant Garlic Allium ampeloprasum is a huge variety closely related to the leek that can produce bulbs that weight up to a pound. It is delicious in salads, stews and soups because it has a slightly milder flavor. It is hardy and should be fall planted in most parts of the country and harvested the following summer. If you have very cold winters, it is recommend that you mulch heavily or spring plant. Below you will find some growing tips for this wonderful garlic.

Elephant garlic grows well in a variety of soils. Medium loam with lots of humus is best. If you have clay soil, plow deeply and work the soil until it is crumbly. If you are on sandy soil, apply compost, old straw or leaves to help retain the moisture.

Use a balanced fertilizer at planting. Like the onion, garlic needs good nutrients to reproduce large cloves. Plant the cloves about 2 to 3 inches deep with the “pointy” end up. Setting the cloves in an upright position in the planting furrow will ensure the production of good, straight-necked, high-yielding plants. Garlic is shallow rooted. Nitrogen should be applied in the early spring when the plants start their first growth. After the tops reach 6 to 8 inches, discontinue. Avoid cultivating close to the plants, remove competing weeds and grasses by hand and keep the soil relatively moist, especially during the early development of the bulbs. Mulching around the plants is highly advantageous and will increase yields. When the garlic sends up a scape or “seed head”, cut them off, as your plant will use more nutrients to produce a bigger bulb. Water less frequently as the garlic nears maturity.

Garlic bulbs in reaction to day length and temperature. Long days and warm temperatures hasten bulbing and maturity. However, bulbing will not occur unless the dormant cloves or the young growing plants are exposed to temperatures between 32 to 50 degrees for at least 30 days. This is why garlic should be planted in the fall in most areas. Here at Heritage Herb Farm, we plant our garlic during September and October.

When the lower leaves begin to turn brown (start checking from June to July), your garlic will be ready to harvest. Use a spading fork to lift the soil and gently pull the plant up. They will need to be cured for about 2-3 weeks in a well ventilated place. Properly matured garlic bulbs will store in a cool, dry area for an indefinite period of time. You may then remove the tops, leaving about 1 inch attached to the bulb. Elephant garlic tends to separate into individual cloves. Occasionally, elephant garlic fails to produce cloves, but instead produces what is call a “round.” They may be eaten like garlic or can be saved for planting the following spring. Invariable, the result will be mammoth size garlic. Always save your largest cloves to replant!

We have just harvested our 2002 crop.

Cost: $5.00 per pound + shipping and handling

You can order by emailing garlic@hwcs.net