Garlic

Description

The garlic commonly grown in the countries of southern Europe, where its bulb is widely used to flavour food, is Allium sativum, a perennial with a bulbous root. About thirty species of garlic grow wild in Italy, including Allium ursinum, Allium vineale and Allium oleraceum; more than three hundred are found worldwide, and the plants range from about twenty centimetres to over a metre in height. BULB: The bulb of culinary garlic is generally made up of several curved cloves wrapped in papery membranes; more rarely it consists of a single clove.

Leaves

Garlic leaves, whose size depends on the age of the plant and the fertility of the soil, are hollow, slightly flattened, curving backwards, of a beautiful intense, glossy green, and are usually aromatic.

Flowers

When it flowers, garlic sends up a rigid stalk at the top of which the inflorescence appears. Culinary garlic is normally prevented from flowering, but other kinds of garlic are highly decorative and are grown precisely for their interesting umbel-shaped flower heads. The flowers appear in late spring or early summer and may be white, pink, violet, yellow, purple or blue; they last a long time even after being cut. To obtain particularly fine flowers it is advisable to leave the bulbs undisturbed for several years.

Exposure

Allium sativum likes a sunny position and well-drained soil: in fact the bulbs fear waterlogging, which, besides preventing the full development of the bulbs, encourage rot. Allium ursinum, on the other hand, prefers half-shade, and damp, peaty woodland soils.

Propagation

The bulblets, commonly but incorrectly called cloves, are planted in autumn or at the beginning of spring, taking care not to turn them upside down but to keep the same orientation they had in the bulb. They are planted in parallel rows about thirty centimetres apart, leaving about twenty centimetres between one bulblet and the next. Finally they are covered with about five centimetres of loose, well-crumbled soil.

Growth

To encourage the growth of the young plants the soil should be enriched with potassium sulphate or wood ash, which is rich in this element, welcomed by all bulbs. In spring it is important to keep the soil hoed, to keep it loose and prevent the growth of weeds. Garlic has no particular temperature requirements.

Harvesting

Allium sativum is harvested when its leaves have dried, usually around the middle of July.

Storage

After harvesting, garlic should be left to dry for about ten days in a dry, airy place. It then keeps for several months, losing very little of its characteristics.

Properties

IN THE KITCHEN: Garlic is a basic ingredient in countless recipes of Mediterranean cooking. Anyone wishing to tone down its smell, which is as persistent as it is unwelcome, can chew a few leaves of raw parsley or a coffee bean.

Health

The therapeutic properties of garlic have been known since antiquity: Allium sativum, rich in vitamins, iron, sulphur and iodine, detoxifies the body and has an antibiotic action. Useful as a vermifuge and an intestinal disinfectant, it purifies the blood, combats hypertension, prevents colds and improves the memory. The leaves of Allium ursinum, eaten fresh in spring in place of parsley, are an excellent purifier and markedly improve the appearance of the skin.

Curiosity

A garlic bulb buried beside each rose bush does not spoil the sweet scent of the flowers (indeed it seems to intensify it), and has the beneficial effect of keeping aphids away, because the roses’ roots absorb a substance contained in the garlic that proves to be a highly effective insecticide. In dry spells, remember to water the soil to help the absorption of the active substances and obtain this astonishing and welcome result.