Garlic

from Yadkin Valley Magazine November-December 2020

by Yadkin Valley Magazine

Collectors

Hannah Lepsch

WRITER & PHOTOS Hannah C. Lepsch, Horticulture Extension Agent, Yadkin County Center yadkin.ces.ncsu.edu/

Curing garlic bulbs. Photo by Hatchet Cove Farm

Garlic: cold-hardy flavor for your holiday fare

The joys of growing vegetables doesn't need to end with the first frost. Winter hardy plants, like garlic (Allium sativum), survive killing temperatures and can be planted in Nov-Dec to grow through the winter season. “Overwintering” garlic produces larger bulbs and rewards the patient gardener with a productive harvest in June. Garlic brings a lot to your table: a self-sustaining edible packed with pungency any chef covets in their kitchen.

Self-sustaining harvest

Garlic is in the allium group with scallions, onions, leeks, shallots. Like other perennial alliums (multiplier onions, potato onions, perennial leeks) it propagates vegetatively and doesn't produce true seed. You plant one “clove” and it divides over the season. The result is a bulb with 6-7 cloves you can eat, store or replant to plant in future years. Eventually you can get a continuous supply of planting stock so you do not need to buy new bulbs to plant. Allium (and garlic) chemistry

Ever wondered where garlic gets its pungency? Some “allium chemistry” explains garlic’s distinctive flavor in cuisines around the world and breeds the “garlic breath” we dread. Alliums have a sulfur-based defense system to repel insects and microbes. When crushed, like when chopping or biting with your teeth, the sulfur is converted to stinging chemicals. These chemical weapons give garlic its pungent flavor, and are what make us cry when chopping onions. Crushing intensifies this biting quality, while heat eliminates much of it. Thus cooking garlic and onions allows their allium sweetness to emerge and preserves sulfur aromas, the “gravy” aroma we enjoy with meat.

The health benefits of garlic and other alliums is a reason to navigate their potent chemistry in the kitchen. Garlic has a high vitamin and mineral content, particularly the immune-boosting vitamin C. It is high in antioxidants that work as a natural anti-inflammatory and reduce cholesterol. Sulfur compounds found in all alliums have been linked with cancer-fighting properties So with that, this farmer will leave off culinary chemistry and turn to production.

Grow your best garlic

Hard-necked (Allium sativum var. ophioscorodon) and soft-necked (Allium sativum var. sativum) garlic varieties are grown in North Carolina. Hard-necked garlic prefers cold winters and does not store as well as soft-neck varieties. They have larger, fewer cloves and produce “scapes,” flower stalks that are edible and have a milder flavor than the bulbs. The young, tender scapes can be pickled, cooked or frozen for later use. Soft-necked varieties have a longer storage period and generally do not bolt easily. They do well in warmer regions of the Southeast. Both are suited to fall planting in the Piedmont.

Purchase garlic bulbs from a local grower or seed company. Do not replant garlic from the grocery store. Most are treated with chemicals for longer shelflife and grow poorly.

Garlic bulbs and cloves. Photo by Tofutti Break.

Separate garlic bulbs into single cloves right before planting. For the best yield, plant in loose, well-drained soil rich in organic matter and amend soil with 3 to 4 inches of compost. Raised beds filled with a compost media are ideal. A two inch layer of straw mulch provides cold protection and weed suppression and Hardnecked garlic in the field. Photo by Distant Hill Gardens

keeps the soil moist. Garlic and other alliums are heavy feeders, so it’s worthwhile to take a soil test before you plant to determine fertilizer needs. Soil tests are free until the end of November. Contact your local extension office for a soil test kit and instructions on how to take a soil test sample. Visit our website yadkin.ces.ncsu.edu or email Hannah Lepsch at hannah.lepsch@ncsu.edu for step by step instructions on how to grow garlic.