The versatile garlic bulb can be planted as early as autumn, but can be grown ahead of the festive season before emerging in just a few months’ time, ready for the summer
Monty Don has urged gardeners to plant garlic bulbs before Christmas.
The gardening expert reckons now is the time to plant a vegetable which we all use on a regular basis in our kitchens and when we are preparing a delicious feed. He says garlic bulbs are easily sourceable and are easy to grow.
He suggested planting the versatile bulbs around the autumn, but Monty said they can be grown ahead of the festive season. Shoots from the plant should then emerge in a few months time.
Monty said: “I start planting garlic bulbs in September but it can be done at any time before Christmas to have a good harvest next summer. The garlic you mostly buy is almost always ‘soft neck’ which has a flexible plaitable stem, stores well (which is why shops stock it) and is often excellent.
“But many think the best garlic are ‘hard neck’ varieties which have a stiff, upright stalk and tends to have smaller bulbs. However it is just as easy to grow and get hold of from good suppliers and because it is much harder to buy, it makes sense to grow it yourself.”
He then went on to list other varieties that should start to grow after a short time, and mean you can have shoots emerging from your garden even before spring. It is important not to crowd the bulbs when planting, and place them in a spot that attracts plenty sun.
Monty added: “Hardneck varieties such as ‘Red Duke’, ‘Rocambole’, or ‘Early Purple Wight’ are slower to grow so may take a while to appear whereas softneck varieties should start to show shoots after a month or so.
“Like all garlic of any type, plant plump individual cloves (the bigger the clove the bigger the bulb it will generate) 6-9 inches apart, pointed end up and buried a good inch below the surface in well-drained soil in a very sunny position that has plenty of organic material dug into it. Shoots will appear in about 6-8 weeks”
He previously argued it was “very good month” for planting trees, shrubs, hedges, perennials and tulips. And he said it was time to protect look after plants and look after your garden furniture.
Monty previously said: “Tender plants are protected, leafy perennials cut back, furniture brought in ready for repair and repainting, garden machinery checked over and serviced and the horticultural hatches battened down.”
Gardeners’ World magazine agrees that the plant should be grown in “a warm, sunny spot, in fertile, free-draining soil that doesn’t get too wet in winter”. The gardening website recommends buying bulbs at the garden centre or order from a seed supplier and not from the supermarket.
It added: “Garlic is usually planted in late autumn or early winter, but if you have a heavy soil you may have more success from planting in early spring. Plant garlic bulbs directly in the ground or start them off in small pots or modules if you have heavy soil. Garlic can also be grown to harvest in a large container.”
