Elephant Garlic Not Available Here and Now ?

[englishladyMember]

I have been searching for ‘elephant garlic’ with the mild huge bulbs for weeks and still have not found anyone who is selling them at a reasonable price.  The nearest I got was Marshalls who are selling 12 cloves for about £10   BUT they are not available until the autumn.   Why is that ?

I know they are not a true part of the garlic family, but they are absolutely gorgeous roasted whole, then squished out with the roast potatoes and other root veggies.

In other countries they are grown year round — I just dont get why they are not here.  Never EVER seen then in any supermarkets either, even Waitrose.

What’s going on ?

[charlesModerator]

Julie it is not time to plant garlic until October and this year’s crop (for seed) is still growing.
Yes it is expensive , however you buy a few cloves to make your own seed so its a one-off investment. 

[englishladyMember]

Hi Charles  –  Thank you for replying.  I have grown garlic all year round before from shop bought cloves, and they have always sprinted ahead.  Maybe it is just this particular type which is not supposed to be planted until October?  Doesn’t that mean it goes through the winter months?

And of course you are right, it is a one time investment and it is certainly worth it for such fabulous ‘wet’ garlic.  It is bulging with almost all vitamins and minerals we need when straight from the ground ‘wet’ rather than dried, which you probably know already.

I will just have to be patient!  Thanks again.

Julie

[RhysParticipant]

http://www.thegarlicfarm.co.uk 

It’s where I got my seed bulbs from two years ago – they farm on the Isle of Wight as specialist garlic farmers and sell regularly on Farmers Markets, at niche food shops etc etc.

You can buy online and they will ship the product – whether that is cost effective for you, only you will know.

[englishladyMember]

Thanks for that rt  —  very interesting indeed. Dont remember coming across them on my searching so will give it a go. Many thanks.

Julie

[StringfellowParticipant]

My Elephant Garlic from the Garlic Farm has grown well, each clove kicking out strong growth from an October planting/ sowing. They started to send out flowering stems in the last couple of weeks and we have been enjoying them (the scapes) in omelletes etc. Harvest time proper in another couple of weeks or so…..

Best getting an early order in with them (around late August time?) as everything sells out pretty swiftly! Good luck with your garlic this next year Julie.

[englishladyMember]

Can I just be sure I have this right Stringfellow?  Buy the cloves around August, then they grow through the winter, put out flowers April/May, then harvest in June  — would that be roughly right?

I STILL dont understand why a clove would not grow at any time of year.  We lived in France and they grew year round. Maybe it is me being thick or just the difficulty in getting the cloves?

Thanks for your post.

Julie

[StringfellowParticipant]

Hi Julie. I live in the North of England and, following the directions in HTGWV by Charles, my elephant garlic has grown well this year. I think I placed an order with the Garlic Farm late August or early September 2013 but they mailed them out later – say around late September/ early October time. I planted them soon after in undug composted soil, to grow through winter and I expect to harvest in the next 3-4 weeks. I hope this helps!

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