Garlic

Last year I was not very organised and did not start any crop in the summer to see us through the winter (eg leeks, sprouts and other brassicaes, etc) so we went hungry. Well, not really … Tesco is still open 24h so we survived. But this year, I am more prepared and hoping to grown a variety of vegetables to take us through the seasons. The big master plan started in December with garlic.

I love garlic - I’m French, after all, it’s in my blood - and has always wanted to grow my own and then tie the heads into one of those plaits you see all over French markets. Growing garlic is apparently easy, you put a clove in the ground in winter or early spring and comes summer, you crop a full bulb for each clove you have planted. Traditionally, garlic is planted on the shortest day and harvested on the longest day. As I like those kind of gardening traditions, I put mine in on the 22nd of December (close enough, it was actually pouring with rain on the 21st!). It took a little while for the green shoots to appear but it is now doing very well. The picture was taken in April and the stems have now doubled in size, I assume it means the bulbs underneath are healthy! Not too long till harvest time … I’d better find out how to make those plaits!