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David E. Ross · 25-01-2009, 06:55 PM posted to rec.gardens

On 1/25/2009 10:46 AM, Phisherman wrote:
On Sun, 25 Jan 2009 08:25:07 -0800, wrote:

On Sat, 24 Jan 2009 11:54:28 -0800, wrote:

Is it necessary to remove the husks from the separated
cloves? Or advisable?

Tx

Persephone
Thanks to all who weighed in on this.

Based on your input, I won't bother removing the husks and
will make sure I plant in the proper vertical orientation and have
saved some "base plate".

Curious about one poster who grows garlic near roses as
anti-aphid (exactly what I'm doing). You said you grow as
perennial -- so you just leave it underground?

Last year I harvested the bulb -- tiny, alas -- and ate the cloves.
If it's better to leave them in the ground for anti-aphid properties,
I'll do that, though there IS some "spiritual" benefit in
consuming food that one has grown.

Yes, I have left them in the ground for over 10 years now. It grows
from January to June when the summer heat kills it back. They
produce blooms too. The color and shape complement the Don Juan
climbing roses. That's perfect timing to ward off aphids when they
are looking in the spring. I have lots of deer, but they have not
bothered the garlic, perhaps it helps repel them from eating the
roses. The garlic feeds off the cow manure which is intended for the
roses.

On the other hand, if you wish to harvest the garlic for cooking, I
suggest you cut off the flower stalks before the flowers open. This
will result in larger garlic heads.

I used to grow garlic in my garden (and might do it again). I would
separate the cloves and sun dry them on a table on my patio. Then I
would peel them and place them in a jar of olive oil. The oil would
prevent spoilage. When the last clove in the jar was used, I would then
use the oil, which would have a glorious taste of garlic.

Sometimes, garlic preserved in oil can be contaminated with salmonella
or botulism. This can be avoided by soaking the peeled cloves for about
10 minutes in a mixture of half water and half lemon juice or vinegar.
Acid kills the bacteria responsible for either of those contaminations.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary