Heirloom Gardens
Growing Gorgeous Garlic
Beds of Wildflowers

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     No other herb has served as many roles in the culinary, medical and folkloric histories of so many cultures as garlic. An Egyptian medical papyrus from the 16th Century B.C. lists twenty-two remedies employing garlic for everything from heart disease and worms to tumors, headaches and bites. Ancient Olympic athletes chewed garlic to build strength and stamina, and for centuries, the Chinese have drunk garlic tea to relieve fevers, cholera and dysentery.

     The culture of garlic is so ancient that no one knows where the plant first originated. Virtually every culture has used garlic from time immemorial, both as a food and as a healing plant. And it is not just old folklore that attributes garlic with healing powers. Louis Pasteur described the antibacterial properties of garlic. Albert Schweitzer, deep in the jungle without mainstream pharmaceuticals, gave his patients garlic for amoebic dysentery. Garlic was in great demand during the world wars as an antiseptic. In 1916 the British government asked for tons of garlic bulbs, offering 1 shilling per pound for as much as could be produced. Medical studies of the efficacy of the plant continue.

     According to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1990, more than 1,000 scientific studies had described the therapeutic roles of garlic. In 1994, Dr. Adesh K. Jain of the Clinical Research Center and Tulane University School of Medicine, reported that garlic can lower blood levels of "total" cholesterol and particularly, of the dangerous low-density lipoprotein (LDL) form. Studies in Germany have shown that garlic is a natural blood thinner and is beneficial to patients suffering from blood clots, particularly in the legs.

     Dr. Benjamin Lau, researcher at the Loma Linda University School of Medicine, has identified three ways garlic protects against cancer. Other researchers have validated and expanded his studies about how garlic protects against cancer and precancerous conditions. The list goes on and on showing that garlic is beneficial to humans, but the fact is that people love garlic-whether it's good for them or not!

     In the garden, garlic is of great benefit in deterring pests. Almost every pest insect will run from the scent of garlic growing. Although people cannot generally smell garlic while it is growing, insects can, and that scent is enough to send them in another direction. Garlic has also been recommended to keep moles and other digging critters out of the garden.

     When used as a spray, garlic helps keep insects and diseases as well out of the garden. In Organic Plant Protection, Roger B. Yepson, Jr. says that experiments on the use of garlic spray as an insecticide and as an antibiotic for controlling plant diseases show that "garlic sprays effectively controlled downy mildew of cucumber and radish, cucumber scab, bean rust, bean anthracnose, early blight of tomato, brown rot of stone fruits, angular leaf spot of cucumber, and bacterial blight of beans."

     Common garlic (Allium sativum) is a member of the same group of plants as the onion. The leaves are long, narrow and flat like grass. The bulb develops underground into a cluster of bulblets, or cloves, that are held together in a sac of whitish skin. The flowers grow at the end of a stalk rising directly from the bulb and are generally whitish. Small bulbils grow among the flowers creating a globe of blossom. The small bulbils in the flowers are not seeds, but they can be planted. Generally it takes a couple of years for a plant to result from these tiny bulbs. They can also be used as flavoring in recipes.

     There are two general kinds of garlic-the hardneck varieties and the softneck varieties. Hardneck garlics send up a central stalk that eventually matures into a cluster of flowers. Softnecks have evolved from the hardneck varieties and generally do not produce a flower stalk. The softnecks are easily braided and are valued for this characteristic, however, they are generally hotter than the hardneck types.

     Because garlic is so wide-spread and adapted to every location and climate in the world, it is not difficult to find a type that grows well in your location. Your staple garden garlic should be one that has been growing in your area for a long time and is well adapted. Once you have that type going, you might want to try some exotic types from other places. The growing interest in garlic has encouraged commercial sources to seek out different types for people to grow.

     Garlic heat can range from very hot to mild. Like pepper heat, garlic heat is a very subjective thing. Some people don't think garlic is hot at all, while others shy away from its taste. It is fun, then, to experiment with different types and find the one that suits your taste. You will find that any variety will produce better for you once you have grown it for a few years. Garlic adapts quickly to a location, and once established, produces more flavorful and larger bulbs.

     Garlic will grow in almost any kind of soil. Like most other plants, however, it will grow better in better soil. Garlic flourishes best in a rich, moist, sandy soil. Soil to which organic matter has been added and which has been loosened well will provide good growing ground for garlic.

     Rocambole (A. sativum var. ophioscorodon) is another common variety of garlic that has been a source of a good deal of confusion. According to Marian Coonse in her book Onions, Leeks & Garlic, "Identification of this perennial has been confusing botanists since 1601." At one point, it was even named A. sativum var. controversum. Rocambole resembles common garlic except that it is a much larger plant. The flower stalk will rise to three feet or more and the bulb is considerably larger than common garlic. The flavor is generally milder. Ms. Coonse describes the differences between common garlic and rocambole: "A distinguishing characteristic of rocambole is that as the stem rises above the leaves, it coils about itself, eventually straightening out again and continuing upward. A long, pointed green cap forms at the top of the flowering scape. As the buds open, the green cap falls to one side, exposing numerous tiny bulblets among the flowers." Rocambole is considered a hardneck garlic by commercial producers.

     There are other plants that are related to garlic and that have garlic flavor, but are not strictly speaking garlic. Elephant garlic (A. ampelo-prasum) is more closely related to the leek. It is, however, grown just like common garlic, except the plants should be placed farther apart. Society garlic and garlic chives also have the flavor of garlic; they are members of the onion tribe that produce leaves but no bulbs. Both add garlic flavor to cooking and serve to deter pests in the garden.

     October is the very best month for planting garlic, but again, garlic is very forgiving. In areas where the ground doesn't freeze, you can plant garlic any time from September to March. If you have cold winters, plant either in September or October or as early in the spring as you can work the soil. The plant is extremely frost-hardy, but it needs time to grow some roots before the soil freezes, so try to get them in the ground six to eight weeks in advance of a deep freeze.

     Select a sunny spot for your garlic bed (but the plants will grow in the shade of deciduous trees) and work compost, manure, or other organic material into the soil. Separate the cloves in the bulb right before you are ready to plant and plant each clove about two inches deep and the cloves about six inches apart. The small, pointy end of the clove should point up. Smart gardeners plant garlic all over the place - around fruit and nut trees, in the vegetable garden, in the flower beds - wherever they want to discourage pests. A layer of organic mulch on top of the soil will help keep the temperature moderated and the growing plants moist. Keep weeds down as much as possible and give the young plants a spraying of seaweed tonic once a month or so through the winter.

     Some experts say that the flower stalk should be removed to make the bulb larger; others say the flower stalk should remain in place. If you want to avoid a hard core in the center of your bulb, remove the flower stalk. Many gardeners love the beauty of the flower, however, and don't mind a central core in the bulb. The flower dries naturally and makes a wonderful addition to arrangements. They can be dried either by hanging upside down or by standing upright in a container-just be sure there is good air circulation. You can tell the garlic is ready to be dug when the flowers are fully open and mature or when the leaves begin to sag and yellow. The plants will mature anytime from May to September, depending on your location.

     When you dig the bulbs, treat them as you do onions. Let them cure slowly in a spot where air circulates and there is very little moisture. Hang the plants (stalk, flower, roots and all) in a shed or other protected spot. In a couple of weeds, the plants will be "cured" and ready to store, The bulb can be cut from the stalk and place into containers that allow air to circulate. Garlic is stored best at temperatures between 55 and 65 degrees. You can also freeze whole bulbs of garlic to be used later. One convenient way to preserve garlic is to peel and chop it in a food processor with a small amount of oil and freeze it in a plastic bag or glass jar. When you are ready to use it, simply dip out what you want and put the rest back in the freezer.

     As you begin to enjoy the flavor of your homegrown garlic, remember to save the fattest clove from each bulb to replant. If you select the best each year, soon your plants will be bigger and better than you ever imagined. As the plants become established, they will also form hard little bulbletes that often remain in the ground when you pull the bulb. These will make new plants, sometimes taking two years to form large plants, but soon your garlic patch will be self-sustaining and naturally burgeoning.

     When you select a garlic to plant, avoid those bulbs at the grocery store. Most grocery store plants have been sprayed to keep them from sprouting. Find a local shop or organic grower at the farmer's market or a friend who can supply you with a type of garlic that has a good record of growing in your area. Once that garlic is established, branch out. Many varieties are available at local garden centers, by mail, and through seed exchanges.