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

Tx

Persephone

In article ,
wrote:

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

Tx

Persephone

We just planted them with the husk on. Nub down if that matters. My
main garlic lesson was that elephant garlic which was expensive at the
time is big but junk in flavor.

Bill

--
Garden in shade zone 5 S Jersey USA

Bill wrote in
:

In article
,
wrote:

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

We just planted them with the husk on. Nub down if that
matters.

why nub down? the roots come from the flat end & the pointy end is
the leaves. they will grow if you plant them upside down, but it
takes longer to get reoriented & growing.

My
main garlic lesson was that elephant garlic which was expensive
at the time is big but junk in flavor.

elephant garlic is just the thing for people who are afraid of
flavor
lee

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

I didn't and they grew, at an amazing speed (it must have been the cow
manure). I planted them years ago in front of the roses to deter
aphids and grow them as a perennial. They come up every year, usually
start pushing up in late January (east TN). ..."Everywhere the devil
stepped, there sprouted a garlic plant. "

In article ,
enigma wrote:

Bill wrote in
:

In article
,
wrote:

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

We just planted them with the husk on. Nub down if that
matters.

why nub down? the roots come from the flat end & the pointy end is
the leaves. they will grow if you plant them upside down, but it
takes longer to get reoriented & growing.

Guess the flat end is what I call a nub. Most likely poor choice of
word.

Bill

--
Garden in shade zone 5 S Jersey USA

On Sat, 24 Jan 2009 17:09:39 -0500, Phisherman
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

I didn't and they grew, at an amazing speed (it must have been the cow
manure). I planted them years ago in front of the roses to deter
aphids and grow them as a perennial. They come up every year, usually
start pushing up in late January (east TN). ..."Everywhere the devil
stepped, there sprouted a garlic plant. "

I think I removed the skins the first year I planted them but never
have since. Basically plant like you'd plant any bulb.

Kate - garlic - it's not just for breakfast

wrote in message
...

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


No, they will grow just fine through the husk.

David

On 1/24/2009 11:54 AM, wrote:
Is it necessary to remove the husks from the separated
cloves? Or advisable?

Tx

Persephone

Just be sure that, when you separate the cloves, each clove has a piece
of the basal plate. The roots grow from the plate.

If a clove breaks off without the plate, use it in cooking.

A day without garlic is a day without sunshine.

--
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

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.

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 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

David E. Ross wrote:

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.

But does it kill the spores too?

David

On 1/25/2009 2:19 PM, David Hare-Scott wrote:
David E. Ross wrote:
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.

But does it kill the spores too?

David

I don't know. I never used the acid rinse myself, and I'm still alive.

One other safety measure is that cooking destroys both the bacteria and
their poisons. Of course, this requires actual cooking and not merely
heating. I never eat raw garlic or garlic-flavored oil. I only cook
with them. (Exception: I did make garlic mayonnaise, using both raw
eggs and raw garlic. However, I also used fresh lemon juice (no water).)

--
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