Do You Know the Types of Garlic?
Ah, garlic! Garlic growers and connoisseurs know that there are three overarching types of garlic. These are softneck, hardneck and elephant garlic.
So many uses and benefits of garlic, and it’s so easy to grow. Plus all parts (except the stringy roots) are edible, from flowers, to scapes, stems (or leaves) and the ubiquitous garlic bulb, garlic is a favorite vegetable loved by most cultures around the world.
In this article you’ll not only learn more about the types of garlic, but also how to grow garlic as well as the health and nutritional benefits. You’ll be pleased to know that while garlic takes a long time to reach maturity, it’s easy to grow, and oh so worth it!
A favorite garlic that we’ve been planting is Moroccan Creole Garlic, which is a non pungent hardneck garlic with a delightful spicy flavor that’s more pronounced raw than cooked.
Moroccan Creole is a very rare heirloom hardneck garlic variety that will produce a scape. Collected in 2009 from an open air market in the seaside town of Essaouira, Morocco, this Creole variety came from the Moors to Spain and like its culture of origin, has a lot of heat, spice and good keeping ability!
~Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company
EDITOR’S NOTE: As of 5/1/21 our favorite supplier, Baker Creek at RareSeeds.com, were out of stock on a number of types of garlic such as these Moroccan bulbs, and we haven’t found them elsewhere yet. Please let us know if you do and we’ll update this info. Otherwise, we can all just check in periodically with Baker Creek and ask them.
You can however, find a number of good suppliers of other great types of garlic bulbs on Amazon, and this red Russian garlic looks good.
Nutrition and Health Benefits of Garlic
Healthy for you, garlic has numerous potent health benefits. Garlic is low in calories and rich in Vitamin C, Vitamin B6 and Manganese, plus traces of other nutrients.
Garlic contains allicin, a sulfur compound with many health benefits. Medicinal benefits of garlic include:
- Cardiovascular health
- Inflammation
- Antibacterial
- Antiviral
- Cancer prevention
- Expectorant
- Immune enhancer
- Helpful in iron metabolism.[1]https://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=60
Garlic is a power packed plant that’s easy to prepare and grow, and one of the key ingredients in the potent fire cider.
Garlic, Allium sativum, is an ancient plant used for flavor, health and medicine for over 5,000 years.
Garlic Festivals
Garlic is so loved that in the US there is a National Garlic Day in the spring of each year.
In many cities around the country there are actually annual garlic festivals. These festivals occur from spring through fall, so just search garlic festival and your city or region name to find the most up to date information for your area.
GARDEN SEEDLINGS ~ Micro quizzes for planting seeds of knowledge:
What flower family does garlic belong to?
A Member of a Flower Family
But what is garlic? Is it a vegetable…? An herb…? A Flower?
Garlic, Allium sativum, is a member of the lily and amaryllis, Amaryllidaceae, family along with onions, leeks, shallots, scallions and chives known as alliums.[2]https://www.britannica.com/topic/list-of-plants-in-the-family-Amaryllidaceae-2058006
Garlic, Allium sativum, is a member of the lily and amaryllis, Amaryllidaceae family known as alliums, along with onions, leeks, shallots, scallions and chives.
When to Plant Garlic?
Fall is the best time to plant garlic, but you can also plant it in early spring, when the soil is fresh and soft. Many choose to plant garlic in spring while they’re getting their spring gardens going.
Long Growing Season
Garlic needs a long growing season at 6-8 months. It’s wonderful that garlic is still relatively inexpensive since it takes so long to grow to maturity, but you can grow a lot of garlic in a small amount of space.
The spring planted bulbs are often smaller than fall planted bulbs, but should still be tender and delicious.
Garlic matures in 6-8 months:
👨🏼🌾 Fall 🍁planted garlic is harvested in the spring or summer☀️
👨🏼🌾 Spring 🌱 planted garlic is harvested in summer ☀️ or fall 🍁
