How to grow Elephant Garlic

How to grow Elephant Garlic - Introduction

Elephant Garlic is a member of the Onion Family, and it is recommended that it should not be grown in soil that has borne an onion family crop in at least the last three years.

The plant grows best in a rich, deeply cultivated, well drained soil.
It likes partial to full sunlight.
Clay loams are better than sandy soils for growing garlic as long as there is adequate surface drainage.
Surface drainage can be improved by making raised beds.

Prepare the soil for planting elephant garlic by digging to a spades depth and tillering to a fine tithe.
Apply a complete fertilizer to the soil at the rate recommended on the package.

Split the large head into separate cloves, there should be about five or six large cloves available for planting.
Plant the cloves in a loose well prepared soil, with the pointed end up, and the point being about 2.5cm (1 inch) below soil level.
Plant 25cm (10 inches) apart in all directions, and mark the rows with stakes or labels at either end.
Smooth the the surface of the bed, and spread a thin mulch to keep the soil from crusting, and finally gently apply water.

- The garlic will be ready to harvest in June of the follwing year, or when the leaf tops become dry or bend toward the ground. At that point you should stop watering the garlic, as too much moisture can cause the bulbs to rot in the soil.
- When harvesting elephant garlic gently dig out the bulbs using a border fork to loosen the soil.
- Hang it to cure and keep the freshly harvested garlic bulbs in a cool, dark and dry place.
- Some people separate the cloves at this point, as the bulb is very moisture retentive.

- You can freeze all of the cloves on a tray and when they are frozen you can store them in containers.
- They will remain separate from each other, and you can take out what you need when you need it, and will have garlic for the whole year.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse