planting garlic
It’s always a great feeling to plant garlic each Fall! Almost instantly, I begin anticipating all of the goodness that will come from the effort of planting it. Garlic scapes in the Spring and all those bulbs or heads in the Summer. It really is a miracle to me how each clove becomes a bulb or head! Talk about multiplication!
Growing up in an Italian and Filipino family, it may be inevitable that I am a garlic lover. Both cultures use a lot of garlic in their flavorful recipes.
But growing my own garlic is something I didn’t try until about 4-5 years ago. If you’re thinking about growing garlic, I highly recommend it. I started out growing softneck garlic, but switched to hardneck. Growing hardneck garlic adds more to love about garlic - garlic scapes!
Garlic scapes are the green, curvy sprouts that grow from the hardneck variety of garlic. There is a flower bud near the end of the scape. The tender part above and below the bud adds a mild garlic flavor to any dish, and I use these in place of garlic when they are in season. If you store in a vase of water, be sure to trim the bottoms and change the water daily to keep them fresh. If stored in the refrigerator, they will last for a couple of weeks. Try a garlic scape pesto by processing ½ cup of garlic scapes in a food processor, and then add ½ cup of olive oil and continue processing until smooth.
After harvesting the scapes, the stems will begin to turn brown. When brown, this signals that the heads of garlic are ready to harvest. To dig, use a pitchfork, which helps to not break up the heads, or dig very carefully and away from the stem. Wait to dig until the soil is dry.
Besides adding bold flavor to recipes, garlic is rich in the antioxidant allicin, which is a natural blood thinner that promotes heart health. Allicin also has anti-bacterial properties, may help improve cholesterol levels and blood pressure, and may help prevent cancer. It’s best to chop your cloves about 10-15 minutes before cooking to release enzymes that activate the allicin.
Pick up fresh garlic at your farmers’ market and consider growing your own this year by breaking up a head and planting the cloves. In the north, plant them in the Fall. Elsewhere, they can be planted in early spring. And you can always plant in the Spring, if you didn’t get to it in the Fall.
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Learn more about growing garlic from University of Maryland Extension here.
