Garlic lines Spring Gardens... #GardenCuizine #gardenchat

Garlic for Health

Spring has sprung in South Jersey! Most people associate peas and asparagus as the harbingers of spring, but biennial and perennial herbs like parsley, thyme and rosemary along with fall planted bulbs, like garlic, get well established long before peas or asparagus even begin poking up from the earth. This season brings no exception; garden herbs and garlic are growing strong, while spring peas and asparagus are just now beginning to emerge.

There are a few distinct kinds of garlic, namely hardneck and softneck varieties. Our Italian hardneck garlic Garlic Rossa di Sulmona was special ordered direct from Italy. We can't wait to cook with and taste it. We're also growing Certified Organic Garlic Early Italian White Softneck. All garlic was planted with other kinds of bulbs last fall. 

The emerging green growing shoots sprouted up back in November. The eager growth went dormant throughout the winter months (if you want to call this winter a winter). Now, come Spring, as you can see in the photo above, the garlic is growing well! 

Cooking with Garlic

At this stage, the green growing stems can be snipped and added to foods like you would use scallion tops. During the plants maturity, hardneck varieties will send up edible scapes that bloom into flowers. When the scapes appear, I'll try to post a photo to show you what they look like. Scapes add a gourmet touch to foods.

Harvesting Garlic

Garlic becomes ready to dig up and harvest when most of the greens have died back later in the season. Garlic is best harvested after a few weeks of dry weather, according to Jodi Ferguson - organic gardener who wrote an article about growing garlic for Heirloom Gardener magazine.

Garlic for Health
Garlic is associated with health claims from being antibacterial, good for the heart, lowering cholesterol, reducing blood pressure - to reducing the number of tick bites. With the exception of having antimicrobial properties, science-based evidence is limited or conflicting on most of the other claims.

Garlic is full of nutrients, many that you wouldn’t expect: Vitamin C, Calcium and Vitamin B6.

You may have heard of garlic’s potent antioxidant and active component, Allicin. Allicin has antimicrobial properties that inhibit a wide range of bacteria. 

Fresh garlic has the most allicin vs pre-minced garlic in jars, which may be more important than convenience.

For maximum Allicin benefits, allow fresh
chopped garlic to "rest" for 10 minutes before cooking.

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GardenCuizine Garlic Nutrition: calculated from USDA Nutrient data  

3 cloves (9g) = 13 calories, 0 calories from fat, saturated fat 0, cholesterol 0, dietary Fiber .2g (1%DV), Protein .6g (1%DV), Vitamin C 2.8mg (5%DV), Vitamin B6 .1mg (6%DV), Calcium 16mg (2%DV), Manganese .2mg (8%DV), Selenium 1.3mcg (2%DV)

Percent Daily Values (%DV) are for adults or children age 4 or older, and are based on a 2,000 calorie reference diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower based on your individual needs. 

Health note: garlic may interfere with some drugs and is not recommended to be taken in excess or supplement form if taking anticoagulants, like Warfarin. Best to check with your doctor.

Related Links

Growing Garlic (Allium sativum)
You can find garlic bulbs from many garden suppliers. Our garlic was ordered online from growitalian.com.

Photo Copyright (C) 2012 Wind. All rights reserved.

Grow Garlic (Allium sativum) in your Kitchen, School or Hospital Garden #GardenCuizine

Grow Garlic Allium sativum

You can easily and sustainably grow your own garlic. A single clove grows into a whole bulb! Fresh garlic adds great flavor and nutrition to foods. When roasted, the flavor becomes sweet. Roasted garlic* is delicious added to vegetable dishes or as a spread on homemade whole grain bread. Most people think garlic is garlic. But did you know there are literally hundreds of different types of garlic with differing degree of garlic taste and flavors? Typical supermarket bulbs are large and bright white and usually come from China, the worlds biggest producer.

Purchase garlic from a supplier or, if you don’t mind not knowing exactly what the variety is, pick up fresh bulbs at your farmers market and plant the cloves. Select firm, organic bulbs (non-organic bulbs may have been treated to hinder sprouting). Garlic from suppliers is usually shipped late September or early October. 

Garlic Varieties
Garlic species are divided into softnecks var. sativum and hardneck var. ophioscorodon.

Hardnecks– are cold hardy with stronger garlic flavor. Hardneck varieties grow scapes. You can cut off and use the mild flavored herbal scapes as you would garlic chives in your recipes. The main hardneck types are Rocambole, Purple Stripe and Porcelain. Varieties include: Duganski, Deerfield Purple, German Extra Hardy, Purple Glazer and Rossa di Sulmona. Dig up and harvest the garlic bulbs after their green growing stalks turn brown, in June or July. 

Softnecks – have milder garlic flavor and are ready to dig up sooner (sometimes by April) than Hardneck varieties. Softneck garlic is usually the type sold in supermarkets because they have a longer shelf life. They are not as cold hardy and can be grown in warmer climates. The main types are Artichokes and Silverskins. Homegrown softneck garlic can be traditionally braided and hung in your kitchen. Varieties include Early Italian White, Early Italian Purple, Italian Late, White Sicilian and Chinese Pink. 

Elephant Garlic
Allium ampeloprasum is very mild in flavor and is not really a true garlic.

Easy to Grow

Garlic, along with onions, leeks and shallots are members of the Alliaceae family and are really easy to grow. Children can be big helpers too when it comes to planting garlic. Garlic cloves are large - the perfect size for little fingers to grip and push into the soil. 

Planting Garlic  
Fall-planted garlic works well for Northern and gardeners who have cold winters. Gardeners in Southern areas, with mild winter weather, can plant garlic in late winter or early spring. Garlic can be planted in rows in prepared garden beds or can be grown as a companion plant alongside some plants (cabbage, beets, roses) because of garlic's natural pesticide properties. 

• First break apart the bulb, separating the cloves. Each individual clove will mature into whole bulb of garlic by the following summer. There is no need to peel each clove. 
• Using a small shovel or trowel, make a trench a few inches deep for how ever many rows you wish to plant. 
• I then like to push my finger in the soil before putting in each clove. The space between each clove should be around 3-4-inches to assure room in between for the clove to grow into a bulb. 
• Position each clove flat side down in each hole with the pointed tip up (roots grow down from the flat part).  
• After you get all the cloves in the dirt, position stakes or signs so you remember where they're planted.
• Cover the cloves up with dirt, gently patting down the soil. No need to water them. Let mother nature do the rest.

Green shoots will emerge in the spring. In Northern gardens and those with cold winters, if they start to sprout before the first frost, don’t worry. Just leave them alone. The garlic will stop growing when it gets cold and resume again in the spring. The important thing is to plant the cloves in the fall so their root systems get started.
 
Garlic is hardy and will grow in most soils. For the best garlic, horticulturists recommend growing your bulbs in rich, well composted soil. We grow ours in a raised bed, and mix in compost annually.
Related links:
Gourmet Garlic Gardens click on the link and scroll down for great photos!
Garlic and Organosulphur Compounds 
Garlic
Fruits and Veggies More matters Garlic
Blog article and photos copyright ©2011 D.Wind. All rights reserved.