Garlic : The Incredibly Useful 'Stinking Rose'

It’s hard to imagine life without garlic.

Relied on for centuries for a variety of uses ranging from treating bubonic plague and cholera, to jazzing up salsa at the local taqueria, Allium sativum is one popular plant.

While most residents of planet earth have experienced the flavor of garlic in culinary dishes, the long list of medical applications for garlic may surprise you. Recent medical research supports claims that eating garlic can lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, as well as reduce the risk of color, rectal and stomach cancers. Garlic has significant natural antibiotic and antibacterial properties and, in the absence of as yet discovered penicillin, was used to prevent  field wounds from becoming septic during WWI.  

Garlic is used to expel intestinal worms and ticks, and the juice is a diuretic used as a remedy for constipation, and is also used to lower blood sugar in diabetic patients.  It’s used aas an expectorant in syrup form and is one of the few dietary sources of selenium :  a powerful antioxidant that can prevent free radical damage to cells which contribute to the aging process.

Whether you intend to thwart vampires or make your own garlic ice cream, growing garlic at home is easy. Garlic is divided into two botanical groups – hard neck types which belong to the var. ophioscorodon( also called rocambole, serpent garlic, Ophio garlic, or Spanish garlic) and soft neck  types which belong to the var. sativum.

Although similar to Allium longicupsis, Garlic does not exist in the wild and relies on human propagation.

Soft Neck garlic is easy to grow, and is propagated by planting the plump, outer cloves from a single bulb.  As with other onion family varieties, the soil should be formed into raised beds, and have good drainage. Garlic grows best when planted in cool soil, and in the southeastern US, soft neck garlic is typically planted in mid Fall and harvested the following summer. Cloves should be planted vertically about 1” deep, with the pointed tip facing up. Allow for 6” between plants and about a foot between rows, and be sure to keep the beds free of weeds which will compete for nutrients, water, light etc.

The bulbs are ready to harvest when the tops have turned yellow, and they should be brushed free of soil, but not washed, and placed in a warm, dry, well ventilated place in order to properly cure. Washing the bulbs, or keeping in wet or poorly ventilated conditions can cause the garlic bulbs to mold or rot.

Hardneck Garlic varieties are propagated by planting the top set bulbils the same way onion sets are planted. Hardneck garlic varieties are perennial and typically left in the ground for two years before harvesting.

Ready to plant? Click here to see this season’s garlic selection Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.  We highly recommend the Inchelium Red soft neck variety  ; an heirloom cultivar discovered on the Coleville Indian reservation in Inchelium, Washington.