Growing Garlic (Seed)

 

The History of Garlic

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Grow it yourself in the UK

We have been growing garlic in the Arreton Valley on the Isle of Wight for over 25 years. Garlic grows well over most of the UK provided it is grown in a free draining soil that is not too acid and kept well watered and weed free. Any amateur gardener can grow good garlic.

Provided it has adequate water in a fertile soil it will grow anywhere in the UK . If there is any secret to growing good garlic it is in how it is handled at harvest and dried. This should present no problem to the amateur gardener who buys 5-10 bulbs and grows 50 to a 100 bulbs.

The UK climate presents the commercial grower with more of a challenge. Bright sparkling white bulbs are the product of Mediterranean sunshine. In our English climate we have to make maximum use of the sun when it is there and protect the garlic from the prolonged wet spells that are our lot.

Garlic requires a long rotation of more than six years to prevent the build up of diseases such as white rot, and nematode pests such as eelworm. The land is ploughed, cultivated and fertilised according to the needs of the crop and the chosen fields for the year.

Isle of Wight Garlic is planted from October to February and the first garlic shoots mark the rows from January onwards. Garlic requires a spell of cold weather, generally 1-2 weeks at 0-4C, to prepare itself physiologically for bulb formation later in the year.

Weed control is largely by mechanical inter row cultivation and some hand hoeing. This is supplemented in the spring with an application of herbicide to suppress particularly difficult weed competition.

During the spring the garlic crop responds to applications of nitrogen and sulphur to encourage healthy leaf growth. There is some evidence that the sulphur also assists in the formation of higher levels of allicin, the sulphur compound which is at the centre of the medicinal properties of garlic and also for the sulphurous combinations which make up garlic's pungent aroma.

Garlic Harvest

Garlic Harvest takes place from May to July.

Early Wight, a purple hardneck garlic produces the first fresh garlic bulbs in the country, well received in all the Farmers Markets we attend. Customers can't wait to use fresh garlic again after using up the last of the previous year's stock.

Purple Wight, another hardneck with bigger bulbs of about 8 large fat cloves follows in June. This is a strong, hearty garlic that will keep until December and very popular with all cooks and chefs.

Solent Wight follows, a white softneck, long-keeping garlic with wonderful bouquet, length and breadth of flavour that will keep till February. Many customers tell us they are still using it in June.

See our range of Seed Garlic available to buy online.