Planting and Growing Garlic varieties in the UK Garden

Garlic is the common name for this edible plant from the allium family and has been used for culinery and medicinal purposes for centuries. Allium sativum is the garlic used in cooking, but with over 200 varieties thew choice is great, different intensities and flavours exist accross the species.

Generally speaking plant garlic in winter and harvest during summer after the bottom half of the plant starts to die back. Garlic comes as 'softneck garlic', 'hardneck garlic' and 'elephant garlic'. Softneck Garlic varieties include: 'silverskin', 'turban', 'chinese pink', 'transylvanian'and 'creole'. Hardneck Garlics: include 'purple stripe', 'porcelain' , 'italian purple' and 'russian red'. Elephant Garlics are large and can be roasted whole. So Hardnecks have the most flavour, Softnecks are easy to grow and last longer once harvested and Elephants are big. For ornamental garlics visit our allium page .

How to grow Garlic

A well cultivated soil to allow the garlic plant roots to go deep, a sunny position and dig in some well rotted cow manure. Plant 50cm deep, 100 - 150cm apart. Water garlic up until December or when the first leaves start to change color. Harvest Garlic when the bottom half of the leaves turn brown, but the top half are still green.

The colder the winter the stronger the garlic.
Our favourite garlic... Porcelains, they have large cloves, great flavor and store well for a hardneck garlic.