When choosing what plants to grow in your garden, garlic is not the obvious choice. However, it can deliver a number of benefits – not only is it a delicious kitchen ingredient that can lower your cholesterol and blood pressure, it actually helps improve the health of your garden, too!
Garlic has been in use for thousands of years for both culinary and medicinal purposes and, despite being native to Central Asia, has spread to become a popular medicinal ingredient worldwide. It has been used to treat a wide variety of physical ailments from respiratory problems and fighting off the common cold to preventing scurvy and treating gangrene.
In the garden, companion planting garlic alongside other vegetables provides pesticidal and fungicidal protection that assists in keeping neighbouring plants healthy and in good condition. A compound called allicin – the substance that gives garlic its peculiarly pungent aroma – is released when the plant is damaged or attacked. It’s commonly believed that allicin evolved in garlic plants specifically as a defence mechanism and, along with having antibacterial and antiviral actions, it is also toxic to insects.
Planting garlic alongside leafy crops such as lettuce and cabbage can help deter aphids and many other common pests. A 2003 study by Newcastle University, UK, showed that snails and slugs have a particular aversion to the odour of garlic and, in fact, die if exposed to concentrated garlic oil.
As for the plant itself, there are many varieties available and most of them are fairly hardy. Four methods can be used for planting: Dibbling, furrow, broad casting and seed drill. Hardneck varieties sprout a relatively tough stalk (or scape) that initially grows straight up before beginning to curve or loop. Some advocate trimming the stalk back to promote growth of the bulb, however this isn’t necessary with all varieties.
Once you’ve harvested your garlic, you’re ready to put it to use in the kitchen. Its culinary uses are endless. As well as using the bulb, garlic scapes have a similar but more delicate flavour than the bulb itself. They can be steamed and served up like asparagus tips, or alternatively chopped and thrown into stir-fries or other dishes.