Plant Gardens 101

Recent findings on the power of garlic to fight cancer and cardiovascular disease, as well as its anti-inflammatory and antiviral properties, give garlic the bona fide characteristics to elevate it to Superfood status.

Throughout the history of civilization, the medicinal properties of garlic have been prized, and it’s been used to treat an array of ailments, including atherosclerosis, stroke, cancer, immune disorders, cerebral aging, arthritis, and cataract formation. Garlic’s power as a heath promoter comes from its rich variety of sulfur containing compounds. Of the nearly one hundred nutrients in garlic, the most important in terms of health benefits seems to be the sulfur compound allicin-an amino acid. Allicin is not present in fresh garlic. It’s formed instantly when cloves are crushed, chewed, or cut. Allicin seems to be responsible for the super-biological activity of garlic as well as its odor. (more…)

While we all know that garlic has many health benefits such as being a natural antibiotic, you may not know that they can also be healthy for your garden as well. As a companion plant, when they are planted near roses and raspberries, garlic will improve the growth and health of your plants. It has the added benefit of deterring Japanese beetles and aphids. Garlic is easy to grow and each planted clove will produce a full head of Garlic with between 8 to 20 cloves per head. To get started in with planting your garlic, first purchase your garlic of choice. Since the garlic from grocery stores has antisprouting chemicals added to it, be sure and buy your garlic from a reputable source rather than a grocery store. One variety that you may enjoy that is popular here in the Mid-South is the mild flavored ‘Elephant’ garlic which has large clusters.

Planting Garlic

One half pound of garlic seed is a good start and will produce about 15 plants. Garlic is divided into hardnecks (Allium sativum var. ohioscorodon) and softnecks (Allium sativum var. sativum). First, check online catalogs or your local co-op for the variety that will suit your needs best. (more…)

Garlic is a cash crop that you can even grow in containers. In fields you separate plantings to rows one foot apart to allow you to walk between them.

But in containers you just walk round the outside of the planting, so cloves can have only four inches between them in every direction.

If you try to buy garlic you will see what I mean about high prices. Considering that each clove should produce between ten and fifteen cloves it should be quite profitable on a small scale for clients who want organic produce.

How to grow garlic (more…)

Garlic is one of the easiest vegetables to grow, you can plant in January for a harvest in July/August. You can plant garlic outside in soil or in compost in 5 cm pots.

Step 1 is to buy a Bulb of Garlic – you can buy from the supermarket but organic is better as some supermarkets treat garlic bulbs with a bulb inhibitor which stops you growing new bulbs for it. So go for organic / farm garlic if you can.

Each Garlic bulb will produce 8 – 12 cloves each of which will be used to form a new plant, I would recommend 2 bulbs to start with, as this will provide more than enough garlic plants for most families.

Fill your 5cm pots with well watered compost, alternatively if you want ot plant in soil prepare an area where you have space to plant the cloves 6-8 inches apart. (more…)

The health perks of garlic are anything but new. Garlic has been produced and enjoyed for remedy purposes for thousands of years. The Roman soldier would eat garlic prior to going into battle, and the Egyptians fed it to their slaves to make sure they stayed strong and healthy. Evidence is still out on if garlic helps ward off vampires, it is known, however, to prevent a collection of illnesses.

It is a great source of significant nutrients like calcium, vitamin C, vitamin B6, manganese and selenium. Investigation shows eating garlic helps lower the danger of esophageal, stomach and colon cancers. It is also noted to lower the danger of heart disease.

Research has demostrated that garlic can reduce triglyceride levels and blood pressure. Garlic also reduces the bad LDL cholesterol while at the same time raising the good HDL cholesterol. It is also been demonstrated to help in the breaking up of blood clots, which means it will assist in reducing the chance of stroke. (more…)