I had to pull my Elephant Garlic because it was trying to flower. I’ve showed it here next to some Carrots I pulled at the same time so you can see how big it is. They’re about 8 or 9cm across.
I must confess myself a bit disappointed with the Elephant Garlic. It’s not as big as I thought it would be and also doesn’t seem to have split into bulbs quite as nicely as you see in the photos. Oh well – it’s still edible, I’m sure.
Next year I might switch back to my usual Garlic. You get more heads for the garden space and in a tiny plot you gotta use the space wisely. Is anyone else growing Elephant Garlic? Did you have success?
Yep it’s that time of year again – time to get your Garlic in. Personally, I love the fact that Garlic goes in the ground this early. It’s a great way to get you focusing on next year’s season even while this one hasn’t quite finished.
Sowing Garlic now means that you have to really think about what vegetables are going to go where in next year’s garden. You have to make room and be confident that that little patch of land can stay undisturbed until late Spring next year (when you harvest your Garlic) – it’s a big commitment! Of course if you’re undecided and need the extra thinking time you could always sow it in pots.
This year I’ve decided to try my hand at Elephant Garlic. I’ve seen the cloves on sale many times but never bought any. So when I saw some at the Malvern Show last week I took the plunge. They really are big! Hence you have to give them more room than normal Garlic. Plant them 4 inches deep and 6 inches apart (2 inches deep and 4 inches apart for normal Garlic).
Elephant Garlic is technically a wild Leek which may account for its milder flavour. As with all Garlic its best planted in Autumn as it prefers a stretch of cold weather. And ideally the ph of your soil will be around the 6 mark. Garlic doesn’t like acidic soils. But for me the best thing about Garlic is that the slugs won’t touch it! Of course there is a possibility that the evil white rot might appear again but I’m taking my chances.
Ack! I’ve got White Rot on my Garlic. I noticed that some of them had started to split and the leaves were turning more and more yellow. I pulled one up to investigate and that’s when I discovered this nasty little fungal disease, lurking beneath the surface. It’s not good news. White Rot is serious stuff for which there is no cure. All I can do is lift the affected plants and burn them. I won’t be able to grow Garlic in the same spot for quite some years, maybe even eight! Bummer.
I think the disease must have come in either some bags of manure I bought at the garden centre or else infected soil from potted plants. I grew Garlic last year and it was fine. But the worst of it is I also have a whole crop of onions (very susceptible to White Rot) growing right next to the Garlic. Hmmmm…
I suppose I’m lucky in the fact that I have four separate beds here at mtp. Each one with slightly different soil (one sandy, one stony etc) so I do have some other options. I’m also wondering if I shouldn’t dig all the soil out of that particular bed and replace it? Does anyone have any experience of that?
It feels quite cruel to be thwarted by nature in this way after all the care and attention I’ve put in. Especially, with something so devastating. To be fair though, I have had some very nice Garlic in the past. I guess this is just the year the Garlic gets it huh?
Off to drown my sorrows.
The first planting of mtp (season 2) is done – ie the garlic is in. I managed to find a patch that had been dug over, added plenty of compost (as Monty suggested) and the garlic bulbs went in. The bulbs are from my own store of garlic that we grew last year. I’ve heard mixed reports about using your own home grown garlic bulbs. Some say that it’s a great idea and that over time you will be able to grow your own strain of garlic which is pretty much immune to anything mtp can throw at it. Others say that it’s a bad idea as your own garlic may not be virus free and could weaken over time. Well I’ll take my chance – and if it doesn’t work out then I’ll buy new bulbs next year. I did find a great link while rummaging through my gardening magazines for the Garlic Farm, which looks like a great place to buy unusual bulbs (see link to the right) – however it’s a bit too expensive for me right now as I’m planning to buy 10 new raspberry canes and a mini polytunnel for my winter lettuce. All of which means that the mtp moneybox is empty right now!
All the garlic came up yesterday. Most it had fallen over and was terribly rusted but when I pulled it up all the bulbs were nice and fat and had split nicely. They’ve pretty much been in the ground since February so that seems like enough time. However, I think I’ll put the new ones in earlier this year just to be on the safe side. Maybe in November? I also managed to dig over the old potato bed and sow some green manure (Mustard) in there. And all before it started raining again!
