Growing Garlic
Allium sativum : Amaryllidaceae / the onion family
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | P | P |
(Best months for growing Garlic in South Africa - Humid sub-tropical regions)
- P = Plant cloves
- Easy to grow. Plant cloves. Best planted at soil temperatures between 10°C and 35°C.
- Space plants: 10 - 12 cm apart
- Harvest in 17-25 weeks.
- Compatible with (can grow beside): Beets, Carrots, Cucumbers, Dill, Tomatoes, Parsnips
- Avoid growing close to: Asparagus, Beans, Brassicas, Peas, Potatoes
Garlic is traditionally planted in cold weather and harvested in summer ("plant on the shortest day, harvest on the longest"). Plant the cloves (separated from the bulb), point upwards, deep enough to just cover with soil. A fairly tough and easy-growing plant but in better soil with regular watering you will get a better crop. On poorer soil, and forgetting to water them, you will still get some garlic, only not quite so much, maybe just a single large bulb.
Leave a garlic to go to seed, and you will probably get plenty of self-sown plants the following year.
To keep for later use, dig up and leave to dry out for a day or so after the green shoots die down. To use immediately, pull up a head when you need it, or cut and use the green shoots.
Culinary hints - cooking and eating Garlic
Cut the growing shoots or use the entire young garlic plants as 'garlic greens' in stir-fry.
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