A Beginner's Garden: Grow Elephant Garlic, Allium Ampeloprasum

Whether you want to grow garlic for its health benefits, its insect-repellent properties, or for its great flavor, plant both elephant garlic and regular garlic in your garden this fall. There are dozens of garlic varieties available. Shop for the specific type you want according to purpose and planting zone.

Each variety of garlic seems to have a little something different from other varieties, just as tomato cultivars differ. Elephant garlic's "thing" is its size; in fact, size is the reason for its nickname. Elephant garlic, Allium Ampeloprasum, has huge bulbs 4" to 5" across or larger. One elephant garlic clove is larger than a whole bulb of most regular garlic varieties.

When you taste elephant garlic, you'll know why it is so popular in home gardens. The flavor is subtle, never hot or bitter. The milder flavor makes elephant garlic ideal for roasting and spreading straight onto breads or crackers. Garlic sulfides are the chemicals that cause the strong taste and garlic breath, as well as the beneficial health effects. Elephant garlic contains fewer sulfides than regular garlic. Enjoy its mild flavor, but eat regular garlic or take garlic extract if you want the full health benefits.

Planting Garlic Click here for how-to slideshow.

Garlic should be planted in the fall for harvest the following summer. In warm climates with a long growing season, you can plant garlic very early in the spring for late summer harvest.

Look for organically raised "seed" garlic to plant in your garden. Organic seed garlic should be raised using organic methods, and it should not be treated with fungicides or other chemicals. Unless it is specifically labeled Organic, grocery store garlic has been treated with anti-sprout chemicals to prolong its shelf-life. If you plant grocery store garlic, it may sprout, but it will be stunted and will not grow correctly due to the chemical growth inhibitors.

You can save some of your own garlic from your summer harvest to replant each fall, so theoretically you only have to buy seed garlic once. (more)

Garlic plants are heavy feeders. They need full sun and rich, loamy soil with good drainage. You can correct the tilth of either heavy clay or sandy soil by adding plenty of compost. Garlic likes slightly acid soil with a pH of about 6.5.

Prepare a planting bed by tilling at least eight inches deep. Except for weeding, you will not disturb the soil again until harvest time next year, so pulverize it well and remove weeds that may regrow. A raised bed makes an ideal home for garlic. You might also wish to space garlic cloves around rose bushes or in other areas of the garden that will benefit from garlic's insect-repellent properties.

One garlic clove will grow into one plant and produce a full bulb. Regular seed garlic is sold as whole bulbs. Separate the cloves of regular garlic for planting. Elephant garlic is usually sold a few cloves per package.

Set the cloves into the soft soil with the flat root end down. The pointed tip of the clove should be 2" under the soil surface. If your soil is properly pulverized, you should be able to just push each clove into the ground to the proper depth, and smooth over the soil surface. Space elephant garlic cloves at least 9" apart; space regular garlic cloves about 4" apart.

Cover the bed with organic mulch. I like to use clean peat as mulch, or loose, dried grass clippings--never green, compacted, or moldy clippings.

Fall-planted garlic should grow a little before winter sets in. You'll see a few green leaves. Add more loose mulch after the first freeze. Garlic will be one of the earliest green plants in your garden next spring, appearing about the time spring flower bulbs begin to grow.

Follow this link to a great source for organic seed garlic.

Source:
Personal experience