Grow Turmeric #GardenCuizine #kitchengarden #garden #NationalNutritionMonth #NNM

Grow Turmeric

in your Kitchen Garden

We love cooking with mild and spicy curry seasoning. Turmeric is one of the main ingredients in curry. Turmeric (Curcuma longa Linn.) tubers look similar to ginger. I bought some at Wholefoods quite some time ago with the intention of planting them to see if they would grow.

I placed the finger-like rhizomes on our plant rack until I could find the time to plant them in a pot. Time went by: they were forgotten. The turmeric sat on our plant rack exposed to light and air for several months. 

waiting for the turmeric to grow...

One day, as I was watering coleus cuttings, I noticed a smooth green stem emerging from the wrinkled, old turmeric rhizomes (see above photo). It was a bud! The turmeric was alive and calling me to plant it asap.

The shriveled turmeric rhizomes got planted a few weeks ago. After a good watering and nourishment from the soil, guess what? Our turmeric is growing! A strong green stem is about a half-inch tall already and growing up towards the grow lights.
 
Ginger and Turmeric like to be shallow planted. I barely covered the rhizomes with soil - they seem to be growing just fine so far.

Ground turmeric (Indian Saffron) adds natural yellow color to foods and may provide some health benefits as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory.
Related Links
About Curcumin
Blog post and photo Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

Kitchen Garden Guide to B Vitamin Plant Foods #GardenCuizine #gardenchat

Kitchen Garden Guide 

to Plant Foods

with Vitamin B

There are 13 vitamins that our bodies absolutely need - some fat soluble, some water soluble - among them are eight important B vitamins. Vitamin-B-rich foods often grown in home and community gardens include asparagus, spinach, mint, parsley, beans, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and peanuts. Read more in my article published on Dave's Garden.

A to Z Gardening for Food and Nutrition: 

Do You know your B Vitamins?

 

The below chart highlights some of the fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds that contain essential B vitamins. For best comparison the calculations are based on portion sizes of one (1) ounce unless otherwise noted. Please keep in mind that this list is by no means all inclusive; there are many other foods that contain Vitamin B that are not shown. 

 Blog Post and Vitamin B Chart Copyright (C)2013 Wind. All rights reserved.

Sautéed Kale with roasted Tahini Sauce #GardenCuizine favorite!

Nutrient Dense

Sautéed Kale
with roasted Tahini Sauce

Back in the day, a favorite staple at my health food restaurant was Kale drizzled with tahini sauce. This was 15-25 years ago when Kale was not even popular in the main stream. Our health conscious customers would eat their kale and always comment "What was on the greens?" We sold many bottles of Helen's Pure Foods Michele's Sesame Tahini dressing back then. Michele's dressing is still available in the Philadelphia area if you want to check it out. Tahini dressing is high in fat*, so use it sparingly. *heart healthy monounsaturated fat from the pureed sesame seeds. You can whip up your own sesame tahini sauce at home too. All you need is some roasted tahini.

Many sesame tahini brands are on the market; look for roasted versus raw for best flavor. I often use Joyva brand. Having the highest oil content of any seed, sesame tahini will have a layer of oil on top even more than what you see with pure, natural peanut butter. It takes a little patience initially to cut into the settled brick of nut paste. Slowly cut and mix it to an emulsified consistency; it will be liquidy and much thinner than peanut butter. After mixing, store sesame tahini in the refrigerator and use as needed. Tahini adds flavor to homemade hummus recipes too.

Nutrient Dense Kale
Cruciferous vegetables include kale, cabbage, kohlrabi, cauliflower, collards, arugula, mustard greens, horseradish, broccoli, bok choy, watercress and Brussels sprouts. They are all cole crop members of the botanical genus Brassica. Kale (Brassica oleracea) has a long history and has been cultivated in kitchen gardens for over 2,000 years. 

Brassica veggies provide a wealth of nutrition and health benefits. Beneficial compounds may help prevent cancer. Boiling may decrease the bioavailability of beneficial glucosinolates, so steaming or sautéing is recommended as a preferable cooking method. Eat more of these vegetables as part of your healthy diet. To make Kale with roasted tahini dressing here's what you will need:

Serves 4 (with plenty of extra dressing to save for another time)
Ingredients
bunch Kale - from your garden or from the market - organic preferably
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
clove garlic
1/8 teaspoon dried hot pepper - optional
 
Tahini dressing:
4 tablespoons roasted sesame tahini
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
splash low sodium soy sauce
splash hot chili sesame oil

Putting it all together

• Rinse kale; no need to use a salad spinner to dry kale; any water on the leaves will help cook the kale
• Pull kale off stems and break into bite size pieces using your hands; set aside in a strainer
• chop the kale stems into small pieces
• chop the onion
• Mince garlic and if desired, pinch dried hot pepper from your garden

In a small bowl, combine tahini dressing ingredients and gently whisk until well blended. Taste and adjust seasonings to taste; add more or less water to desired consistency. Set aside.  

In a wok or large skillet, heat olive oil - sauté chopped onion and kale stems until onion is transparent and kale bits are tender. Add garlic, stir. Add kale and stir. Add a little (1-3 tablespoons) water, cover and simmer until tender.

Serve kale drizzled with tahini dressing and enjoy!

Grow your own Kale
Seeds are available from many providers. Look for heirlooms.

• Italian Lacinato Nero di Toscana 
• Dwarf Blue curled Scotch Kale
• Red Russian Kale 
• Redbor

GardenCuizine Kale Nutrition Data:  approximately 2 cup raw/ 1 cup sautéed Kale (not including other ingredients)
Excellent source: Vitamin A, vitamin C, Vitamin K, Copper, Manganese, Isothiocyanates
Good source: dietary Fiber, Thiamin, Riboflavin, vitamin B6, Folate, Calcium, Potassium

Dietary Fiber 2.6g (10% DV); Protein 4.4g (8% DV); omega 3 fatty acids 242 mg; Vitamin A 20,604 IU (412% DV WOW!);  Vitamin C 160mg (268% DV); Vitamin K 1,094 mcg (1,368% DV); Thiamin 0.2mg (10% DV); Riboflavin 0.2mg (10% DV); Vitamin B6 0.4mg (18% DV); Folate 38mcg (10% DV); Calcium 181mg (18% DV); Potassium 598mg (18% DV); Copper 0.4mg (20% DV); Manganese 1.0mg (52% DV)

Related Links
Growing Cole Crops 
Crispy Kale Chips
Eat More Kale - but Make Sure it's Edible Kale
Photo collage and blog post Copyright (C)2013 Wind. All rights reserved.

Daikon never looked so good! #GardenCuizine @EatRight

Japanese Daikon Radish

Chefs add the crisp, mild flavor of Japanese daikon radish to salads, stir-fries, sushi and recipes - often sliced thin and marinated. The salad shown above was served at Lambertville Station in Lambertville, NJ - featuring Lobster​ claw, colossal crab, baby watercress, chopped plum tomato, topped with daikon radish and scallions on a bed of boston bibb lettuce. Orange peppercorn vinaigrette complimented the salad.  

Try Daikon sliced raw or pickled. Combine daikon radish with carrots for a winning combination. Grow Daikon radish (Raphanus sativus) in your garden: direct sow; prefers full sun. The thick white roots grow 2 to 3-inches wide and up to 24-inches long. Daikon greens are edible too. Harvest in late fall or early winter. We plan to grow daikon and burdock root this year. 

• Enjoy Daikon radish as a good source of Vitamin C

Related Links
Daikon Radish Nutrition 
Photo and blog post Copyright(C)2013 Wind. All rights reserved.

Dietitian Savors Sicily #GardenCuizine @FabriziaLanza @FCPDPG

Anna Tasca Lanza Cooking School

S I C I L Y, Italy

Sicilian Culture and Cuisine Case Vecchie - day 4
 
I'm savoring the memories of our 10-day excursion to Sicily with the Food and Culinary Professionals Dietetic Practice Group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Our Sicilian journey began in Palermo. We traveled  around the western coast and through central Sicily as we toured our way around the island. Our fourth day was a full day of sightseeing and cooking at the Anna Tasca Lanza School - surrounded by prickly pear cactus, vineyards and rolling hills in north central Sicily. 

The Cooking School, located near the Regaleali Winery, was named after its late Sicilian founder, “Anna Tasca Lanza”. Her daughter, Fabrizia Lanza, has carried on the tradition of teaching Sicilian cooking at the family estate.

We watched Fabrizia prepare classic Sicilian foods - from appetizers to dessert - using local ingredients such as herbs from her garden and fresh-made ricotta that arrived still warm! Her menu featured: Panelle (Chickpea fritters), Stewed Lamb with Mint (Spezzatino di Agnello alla Menta), Saffron Stewed Potatoes, and Cassata - a famous Sicilian dessert.  

Fabrizia demonstrated and showed us how to prepare the select menu, including the preparation of Cassata using layers of sponge cake and ricotta cream, encased with green (must be green!) marzipan (made from almonds and ground pistachios) and finished with white icing and candied fruits.

Her foods were paired with the appropriate award winning wines from her family's Regaleali Winery. Fabrizia took us for a private tour of her absolutely spectacular kitchen gardens, complete with chickens for fresh eggs and a breath taking view of the Sicilian countryside.

At the end of our fantastic day, we all gathered around a large farmhouse table to enjoy the meal that Fabrizia prepared for us. 
    ~ Grazie Fabrizia!

Watch for my Dave's Garden article "Gardens of Sicily" - coming soon!
Related Links
Fabrizia's book: Olive - A Global History of olive trees, olives and olive oil
A Warm Welcome to Case Vecchie
Photos and blogpost Copyright (C) 2012 Wind. All rights reserved.

Oregano in Our Garden before #Sandy #GardenCuizine

Oregano

Looking for a drought tolerant, aromatic, easy-to-grow perennial herb? Add care-free Oregano (Origanum vulgare) to your kitchen garden. To intensify the flavor, oregano can be air dried and stored in kitchen spice jars. We pick fresh oregano right up until the first hard freeze and always have some dried on hand too.  

Oregano prefers full sun and is hardy to USDA zones 5a to 9b. Ours doesn't get full sun all day and grows fine though. Oregano adds unique flavor to pizza, pasta sauce, chili, beans, breads and whole grain foods. Oregano's flavor when added to herb and spice blends is a welcomed addition for seasoning vegetables, meats, chicken and all sorts of entrees and side dishes.

Plan your Kitchen Garden today! 
Photo Copyright (C)2012 Wind. All rights reserved.

What happens to Asparagus plants during the Summer? #GardenCuizine @EatRight

Asparagus Berries

Long after the Spring harvest, Asparagus officinalis goes to seed. Female asparagus produce seeds that look like small red berries. Yes, there are male and female asparagus plants! Female plants put more energy into making berries (seeds) at the end of the season - as you can see in the photo shown above, which was taken today. 

We would like to add more male plants to our asparagus patch to yield even more nutritious spears. Asparagus can be grown from seed, if you don't mind waiting 2-3 years for the plants to mature. We prefer to start asparagus from crowns (established roots that can be ordered from growers). Either way, asparagus grows easily and carefree. Asparagus are perennials, which means they will come back every year.

After the spring asparagus season, the spears will grow into a tall dense clump of asparagus ferns throughout the summer. Resist the temptation to cut back untidy asparagus ferns until they are completely dead; there should be no yellowing left. You could also just leave them alone through the winter and trim the dead ferns back in early spring before any new growth begins.

Asparagus provide dietary fiber, plant stanols and many nutrients - especially a good source of Vitamin A, Iron and Folate.

GardenCuizine Asparagus Nutrition: 80g uncooked (approximately 4 large spears): protein: 1.76g (4%DV), dietary Fiber: 1.6g (6%DV), Iron: 1.72mg (10%DV), Magnesium: 12mg (3%DV), Phosphorus: 40mg (4%DV), Potassium 160mg (5%DV), Zinc: .44mg (3%DV), Vitamin C: 4.4mg (7%DV), Riboflavin: .112mg (7%DV), Niacin: .784mg (4%DV), Folate: 40mcg (10%DV), Vitamin A: 604IU (12%DV), Vitamin E: 1.37IU (5%DV), Vitamin K: 33.2mcg (42%DV)

Related Links
Growing Asparagus
Growing Asparagus in the Home Garden
Photo and blog post Copyright (C)2012 Wind. All rights reserved. 

Garden Spotlight: Chiltepin Peppers * Hot Stuff in a berry-sized Pepper! #GardenCuizine

South Jersey Garden Spotlight 
Chiltepin Peppers
 Shown growing in USDA Zone 7a (formerly zone 6b)

Chiltepin Peppers (Capsicum annuum var. aviculare) look like berries; they can be easily dried and used ground or crushed to add flavor to your favorite foods. A little goes a long way; don't let their size fool you. The little peppers are hot stuff at 50,000-100,000 Scoville units - compared to Jalapeno peppers at 3,500 to 8,000 Scoville units . 

Hot pepper heat varies depending on several factors, including the region where grown and growing conditions. The Scoville organoleptic scale is a measure of the capsaicinoid compound that makes hot peppers hot (0 to 16 million units). Pharmacist Wilbur Scoville created the scale in 1912.

Chiltepin Peppers, also known as Bird Peppers, are a food source for birds in some regions. But in our South Jersey garden, we've never had that concern. Perhaps, because the majority ripen indoors in the fall. Chiltepin plants need a long growing season. We grow our Chiltepins in pots and usually bring them indoors when frost threatens. 

To harvest, wait until the peppers are red and ripe, then pick off the plant and let dry out. We dry Chiltepins inside on a plate, then when completely dry, store in spice jars. Bird pepper skins are thin enough that they dry nicely, without getting moldy inside. 

Clinical studies have shown dietary capsaicin to have properties that may benefit weight loss and lower fasting glucose and leptin levels.   

Related Links

Ark of Taste: Chiltepin Pepper 
Bird Peppers Dave's Garden Plant Files Info 
Scoville Scale for Peppers
Homemade Ground Pepper Spices by Diana Wind, RD
Photo and blog post Copyright (C)2012 Wind. All rights reserved.

Today's Harvest: Lots of Cherry Tomatoes, Swiss Chard, Italian Basil #GardenCuizine

Today's Garden Harvest 
South Jersey

USDA Zone 7a (formerly zone 6b)

August 3, 2012 

At around this time in the gardening season, we start to lose control of our somewhat neat and tidy garden. The heat is oppressive. Asparagus ferns, Chia and tomato plants have gotten tall and seem to be leaning every which way. Weeds, especially morning glory, are all over - even though it seems like we just weeded. 

Despite the slight chaos, nature knows best. Oregano is blooming, along with dahlias marigolds, cannas and other flowers that border our backyard garden. Garlic chives have buds. The show and harvest continues.

We don't remember ever having so many hummingbirds! The attraction must be the growing addition of cannas, salvias and their favorite nectar plants. Today, as the hummers buzzed overhead, we harvested a nutritious bounty of:

 Vitamin C and Lycopene-rich Cherry Tomatoes 

Swiss Chard 

 and a few handfuls of herbs: Italian Basil, Thyme, Shiso Perilla

Now is the time large batches of basil should be harvested. We have basil growing in a few different raised beds and plan to process it into pesto, portion and freeze. Maybe tomorrow...

Photo and blog post copyright (C)2012 Wind. All rights reserved.

PURSLANE * Don't Weed It! * the highest vegetable source of Omega-3 #GardenCuizine #GardenChat

Purslane

A weed you don't want to pull out in your garden. After pulling out our mizuna greens after they bolted and went to seed, I was ready to plant something else in their spot. Space is at a premium in our backyard home garden. I noticed a green mat of Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) seedlings had appeared in the area, as if overnight. So guess what was going to be growing in that spot? You guessed it - the purslane stays!

Purslane Nutrition
Many clinical studies have confirmed that Purslane is a nutritious food. Purslane is the highest vegetable source of Omega-3 fatty acids. Other plant sources of Omega-3's include chia seeds, flaxseeds, walnuts, canola oil, edamame and soybeans. Purslane is also rich in antioxidants, Vitamins E and C, beta carotene and other important nutrients.

Purslane can be harvested, rinsed and added to garden salads or added as an accent green to any imaginable entree or side dish. Purslane is one of those greens you probably won't find in your grocery store. Look for it in your yard and garden, you just may have it growing. 

Purslane, the healthiest weed in your yard, is just another reason NOT to invest in weed killers. Organic, is always the best way to go. It's better for you, the wildlife and the environment.

Happy Gardening! 
Related Links
Purslane, an Edible and Beneficial Garden Weed by Darius Van d'Rhys
Purslane, Weed It or Eat It?
Ask the Expert, Omega-3 Fatty Acids Harvard School of Public Health
Chia vs Flax Omega-3 Nutrition

Blog post Copyright (c)Wind. All rights reserved.

Have you gotten a copy of the First Lady's new #garden book yet? #GardenCuizine @LiveKelly

Iron Chef
Cooking with Veggies 

from the 

White House Garden

We will have to try Iron Chef Forgione's recommendation for slicing broccoli or cauliflower after the heads are chopped off to a grain-like texture similar to cous cous - sounds delicious! As for the candied rhubarb...sounds amazing too! We better get more rhubarb planted!

All proceeds from the sale of Michelle Obama's new book American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America go to the National Park Foundation. We have the book and I can't wait to read it.

Related Links  

Cooking with Produce from the White House Garden 

Revel's American Cut by Marc Forgione is a new kind of steakhouse

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.

***

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.

@PhilaFlowerShow select photos #GardenCuizine #gardenchat

Philadelphia 

Flower Show 2012

Happiness is being able to attend the world's largest flower show with family and friends. Philadelphia hosted the first flower show back in 1827 - the first flower show ever in the nation, which has grown to what is now the largest indoor exhibition. I can still remember attending the show in the '90's when it was held at the Civic Center before moving to their current location at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. 

Looking at some of my photos taken tonight, you would never know they were taken on the last day during the last hours of the 8-day long show. 

Throughout the show we observed variegated ginger, society garlic and pineapple plants (Ananas comosus) tucked in along with the tropical foliage that lined many of the exhibit areas. Some of my favorite areas were not even Hawaiian. 

If you like historic Colonial Williamsburg, you would have especially enjoyed the Colonial Williamsburg Kitchen Gardens with oyster shell walkways and garden veggies that included lettuce, turnips, beans and asparagus. Growing veggies, herbs and fruits in kitchen gardens was common during the colonial period. 

Ever wonder what to do with old house windows? They can be made into cold frames to protect vegetables from frost and freezing temperatures. We enjoyed seeing a display of veggies growing beneath cold frames made from recycled old windows. 

Next to the cold frame display was an impressive hydroponic lettuce wall. The walkway led to another veggie garden featuring tomato plants, chard, amaranth and cabbage.

The Men's Garden Club of Philadelphia presented an impressive and inviting table setting surrounded by sacks of coffee beans and well planned landscape. 

With all the wonderful displays and even with having a floor plan, it was easy to miss some of the exhibits due to sheer volume and size of the convention center. I was hoping to, but never did, see the Camden Children's Garden and a Paw-Paw tree that was somewhere in one of the exhibits.

From what I understand, next year's Philadelphia Flower Show will be Brilliant!

Just a few more weeks until spring. Happy Gardening! 
Photographs Copyright 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.