Garlic is one of the healthiest ways to add flavour to food and is not difficult to grow. Allotmenteer Jojo Tulloh explains how to get started. Photographs Andrew Montgomery <\/p>

\u00a9 Andrew Montgomery<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Garlic farmer Colin Boswell believes it\u2019s the range of so many individual cultivars that makes garlic growing exciting. \u201cFor the amateur grower it\u2019s the provenance of these bulbs that is their strong selling point,\u201d he says. \u201cIf you grow your own you can have a bit of France, the Black Sea or Spain in your patch. I love the Heritage hardnecks from Eastern Europe, they have big cloves, they\u2019re easy peeling and incredibly juicy.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u00a9 Andrew Montgomery<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\nHow to grow garlic<\/h2>\n
Garlic is a straightforward crop. If you can grow a pot of narcissi<\/a> you can probably manage a row of garlic. Just find a patch of sunny ground and push the cloves into a hole made with a dibber<\/a> or your finger.<\/p>\n
Best soil for garlic<\/h3>\n
Seed garlic supplier and market gardener Jennifer Birch advises dressing your soil with rock potash and bone meal applied at around 50g per square metre before planting.<\/p>\n
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\u00a9 Andrew Montgomery<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
How to plant garlic<\/h3>\n
Jojo plants her cloves 20cm apart with the soil just covering the tip of the garlic (no more than 25mm beneath the surface) in rows 20cm apart, with alternate rows planted diagonally to each other to create a herringbone pattern. In smaller gardens the spacing can be reduced to 10cm. \u201cThe garlic will push up out of the ground as it grows and should be gently pushed back in at this stage, taking care not to damage the roots,\u201d she says. When you split a garlic head you also get a number of tiny elongated cloves. These, Jennifer suggests, should be planted together and harvested as you would spring onions.<\/p>\n
When to sow garlic<\/h3>\n
As well as being low maintenance, garlic has another advantage: it\u2019s an over-winter crop, grown when other crops are dormant. You can sow from September to the following February to harvest from May to July. Don\u2019t wait until the green leaves have fallen over as with onions \u2013 if you do this you may find your garlic bulbs have split when you dig them up \u2013 instead poke around beneath the soil regularly to check the bulbs have not started splitting up. Otherwise it\u2019s simply a case of running a hoe<\/a> down the rows to keep them weed free and watering.<\/p>\n
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\u00a9 Andrew Montgomery<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\nWatering garlic<\/h3>\n
\u201cThe really critical months for watering<\/a> are in late spring,\u201d says Colin. \u201cIf you let the plants dry out in April or May they will assess the water available and decide to make a smaller bulb.\u201d When you\u2019re satisfied with the size of the bulbs, choose a dry, sunny day to lift and spread the bulbs out over the soil (if no rain is forecast) or under cover with ventilation.<\/p>\n
Storing garlic<\/h3>\n
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\u00a9 Andrew Montgomery<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
When the heads are good and dry, trim the stem down to about 6cm and cut off the roots, rub away the dirty outer layers of skin with your thumb and plait together. When the growing is done comes the delight of discovering the depth of flavours really fresh garlic will bring to your cooking.<\/p>\n
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\u00a9 Andrew Montgomery<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
The best garlic to grow<\/h2>\n
Here are nine great garlics to plant in September and harvest from May to July:<\/p>\n
Allium sativum<\/em> var. ophioscorodon<\/em> \u2018Extra Early Wight\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n
A large, white softneck, with a crisp, fresh flavour. Ready end of May. Has a white bulb streaked with mauve.<\/p>\n
Allium<\/em> sativum<\/em> \u2018Iberian Wight\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n
Large, fat, white garlic with purple stripes. From southwest Spain, it is an excellent all-round garlic with large cloves perfect for Spanish dishes, especially tomatoes.<\/p>\n
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\u00a9 Andrew Montgomery<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Allium<\/em> sativum<\/em> var. ophioscorodon<\/em> \u2018Red Duke\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n
A hardneck, heritage garlic from Moravia in the Czech Republic. It has plump purple cloves and a fierce, spicy flavour.<\/p>\n
Allium<\/em> ampeloprasum<\/em> \u2018Elephant\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n
Less intense than some cultivars, with a warm, mild flavour. Roasted whole, the large head makes for a spectacular feast.<\/p>\n
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\u00a9 Andrew Montgomery<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Allium<\/em> sativum<\/em> \u2018Solent Wight\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n
A cultivar Colin Boswell of The Garlic Farm highly recommends both for its flavour and the length of time it keeps \u2013 normally around nine months.<\/p>\n
Allium<\/em> sativum<\/em> var. ophioscorodon<\/em> \u2018Lautrec Wight\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n
One of Jennifer Birch\u2019s favourites and considered by many to be one of the most flavoursome. Can be planted in autumn or early spring, but not good for wet conditions.<\/p>\n
Allium<\/em> sativum<\/em> \u2018Germidour\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n
An early cropping garlic with rich purple head and ivory cloves. The reliably big heads must be checked regularly for splitting pre-harvest. AGM*.<\/p>\n
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\u00a9 Andrew Montgomery<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Allium<\/em> sativum<\/em> \u2018Thermidr\u00f4me\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n
Traditional cultivar producing large white heads and cloves. Plant October to November for a July harvest, but use by Christmas after cropping.<\/p>\n
Allium<\/em> sativum<\/em> \u2018Arno\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n
With a white head and pink cloves, this new cultivar has the largest bulbs of any long-dormancy type.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t be tempted to plant cloves from a shop-bought garlic, which may be a cultivar better suited to warmer climates. Instead try The Garlic Farm, Mersley Lane, Newchurch, Isle of Wight PO36 0NR (Tel 01983 865378, thegarlicfarm.co.uk<\/a>), which stocks many of the cultivars.<\/p>\n
No garden? Grow vegetables in pots.<\/a><\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n
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How to grow garlic<\/h2>\nGarlic is a straightforward crop. If you can grow a pot of narcissi<\/a> you can probably manage a row of garlic. Just find a patch of sunny ground and push the cloves into a hole made with a dibber<\/a> or your finger.<\/p>\n

How to grow garlic<\/h2>\n
Garlic is a straightforward crop. If you can grow a pot of narcissi<\/a> you can probably manage a row of garlic. Just find a patch of sunny ground and push the cloves into a hole made with a dibber<\/a> or your finger.<\/p>\n