garlic - it's so easy!

I started eating a lot of garlic when I developed high blood pressure because I read it is good to reduce it.  I had never raised it but a friend gave me a bag full from his garden so I decided to plant them since it was fall and the time to plant.  I had a small raised bed 8ft by 4 ft.  I also had some garlic left over from the store so I planted half the bed with the store bought garlic and half with my friend's garlic.  I didn't expect any of them to grow so I didn't write down which was planted where.  One side came up and just kept growing all winter.  The other side did not have one plant come up.  Now I don't know which garlic I have but boy do I have garlic.  On a 4x4 section I harvested enough to fill my porch swing (I needed a place to dry it).  Some were the typical size we see at the store but some of them were big as my hand.  I will keep the biggest and best to use to plant again this fall.  I have been cooking with the fresh garlic and it is so good.  I plan to dehydrate lots of it for garlic flakes to use while cooking all year.  I just never knew it was so easy.  

Hi Kay, Congrats on the harvest. Just wanted to share a few videos I quickly pulled up for you.

This mentions some tips and explanations.




This one shows how to braid garlic. It will save some space for that big harvest next year =)



I'm sure they're some very knowledgeable folks around here that will answer all of your questions. Just ask!

The garlic in your hand is is elephant garlic, a member of the leek family allium ampeloprasum.

The side growths are call corms and can be replanted. They usually produce rounds, undivided bulbs.

True garlic has a superior flavour (allium sativum). It produces much smaller bulbs and there are up to 11 varietal groups of garlic with hundreds of cultivars

https://www.sci.muni.cz/botany/nekola/Heirloom/garlicA.htm

My guess would be that what you grew was probably the garlic you got from your friend.

For folks wanting to grow garlic, this is a really great thread:

https://permies.com/t/5646/garlic