Grow Your Own Garlic

If you’re looking for a vegetable that’s easy to grow and one that you can use in the kitchen almost every day, garlic is a great choice.

Practical and healthy

With its strong flavour, garlic is popular in both Asian and Mediterranean recipes, adding depth to a whole host of savoury dishes. It’s also famed for its health benefits and is a source of vitamins and minerals. Garlic has been called a super-food and many health experts suggest it could help ease a number of ailments such as the common cold.

Easy to grow

With a sunny spot, it’s easy to grow your own garlic at home and you’ll have a useful supply of plump bulbs ready to use whenever you need them. Here are our top tips for growing garlic in your garden:

Choose the right bulbs: Don’t be tempted to plant a bulb of garlic straight from the supermarket as they might have diseases. Instead, choose one from the garden centre or buy online from a seed supplier.

Don’t overwater: It’s important not to give garlic plants too much water as this can cause the bulbs to rot. Only water occasionally if the weather is particularly dry.

Give them space: To plant garlic, simply break up the bulb and plant the individual cloves. Make sure they are around 15cm apart in rows of around 30cm apart to give ample growing space.

Protect from birds and pests: Birds love freshly planted garlic cloves and will even dig them up out of the ground so it’s a good idea to protect your garlic with netting or fleece to keep birds and other pests at bay.

Cut away any flowers: As the garlic begins to grow, snip away any flowers that grow to divert the plant’s energy back towards the bulb.

Harvesting

You’ll know your garlic is ready to harvest once the leaves turn yellow and begin to wither. At this point, your bulbs should be ready. Lift them gently from the ground using a fork. Don’t leave them in the ground too long once ready otherwise they may start to open and won’t keep as well when stored.

Always dig up your garlic rather than trying to pull it out of the ground as deep roots will have grown and pulling could damage the bulbs. It’s also best to use a fork rather than a spade to avoid accidentally slicing into the bulbs.

Storing

Once your garlic is ready, depending on how many cloves you planted, you should now have a large supply of garlic. If stored correctly, this will give you garlic whenever you need it for many months to come.

To store your bulbs, simply brush away any dirt – don’t wash them. Then lay them out to dry in a well-ventilated space. Once they are dry and make a rustling sound when moved, they can be kept in airy containers ready for use. Alternatively, you can plait the garlic to create a traditional hanging display of bulbs but store this in a dark spot, rather than in a bright kitchen, to help preserve the bulbs.