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Garlic facts

• Garlic (Allium sativum) is a perennial plant of the amaryllis family, Amaryllidaceae, grown for its flavourful bulbs. [Britannica]
• Britannica says the plant is native to central Asia but grows wild in Italy and southern France, and is a classic ingredient in many national cuisines. [Britannica]
• Garlic plants grow about 60 cm (2 feet) tall, Britannica says. [Britannica]
• The bulb, covered with membranous skin, encloses up to 20 edible bulblets called cloves. [Britannica]
• The spherical flower cluster is first enclosed in a pair of papery tapered bracts, which split open when the green-white or pinkish flowers bloom. [Britannica]
• Flower stalks sometimes arise bearing tiny bulbils — tiny secondary bulbs that form in place of flowers — and sterile blossoms. [Britannica]
• In ancient and medieval times, Britannica says, garlic was prized for its medicinal properties and was carried as a charm against vampires and other evils. [Britannica]
• Britannica notes that the plant is used in traditional and folk medicine in many places. This site does not make health claims, and treats that only as a record of how garlic has been talked about. [Britannica]
• Kew says garlic has been cultivated around the world for thousands of years and is found in almost every cuisine on the planet. [Kew]
• Garlic is in the genus Allium, Kew says, so it is closely related to onions, leeks and chives. [Kew]
• Garlic bulbs were found in the tomb of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamen, Kew records. [Kew]
• Kew describes a strongly aromatic, rounded bulb composed of around 10 to 20 cloves covered in a papery coat. [Kew]
• Kew lists the species as native in Iran, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. [Kew]
• According to Central European folklore, Kew says, garlic was believed to ward off evil, including demons, werewolves and vampires. [Kew]
• Garlic (seer, in Farsi) is one of the seven items on a Haft-sin table at Nowruz, the Persian New Year, Kew says, representing medicine and good health in that tradition. [Kew]
• Kew distinguishes two main types, or subspecies: hard-necked garlic (Allium sativum var. ophioscorodon) and soft-necked garlic (Allium sativum var. sativum). [Kew]
• Garlic is mentioned, Kew says, in several ancient Egyptian, Greek, Indian and Chinese texts, as well as the Bible and the Qur’an. [Kew]
• Every part of the garlic plant is edible, Kew says. The bulb is the part most often used; the flower stalks (scapes) and leaves are also sometimes used in cooking. [Kew]
• The RHS calls garlic a member of the onion family, and a staple of Mediterranean cooking, simple to grow in a warm sunny site with well-drained soil. [RHS]
• It is started from cloves rather than seed, the RHS says, and usually needs a spell of cold to form a good bulb, so it is generally planted in autumn to overwinter outdoors. [RHS]
• Cloves for planting, the RHS says, should be named varieties bought from a garden centre or mail-order supplier. It is not recommended to plant garlic bought from the supermarket, which may be unsuitable for the British climate and carries a risk of introducing disease. [RHS]
• There are two main types of garlic, the RHS says: hardneck and softneck. [RHS]
• Hardneck garlic, on the RHS’s account, produces bulbs with fewer, larger cloves, has a stronger flavour, stores well for about four to six months, and is more prone to bolting (flowering), which can lead to a smaller bulb that will not store. [RHS]
• Softneck garlic produces smaller, more tightly packed cloves, the RHS says, and stores for longer: autumn plantings keep well into the following winter, and spring plantings until the middle of the following spring. It is unlikely to bolt, except in poor growing conditions. [RHS]
• Elephant garlic (Allium ampeloprasum) is often sold as garlic, the RHS says, but is actually more closely related to leeks. It produces a big bulb with a small number of very large cloves, which have a mild flavour, and is best planted in October. [RHS]
• Elephant garlic sometimes does not divide into cloves, the RHS says, producing a large single-clove (solo) bulb. Early planting often reduces the occurrence of solo bulbs, which can be eaten or replanted the following autumn, when they will usually go on to produce a multi-clove bulb. [RHS]
• Garlic is usually planted from mid-autumn to early winter, the RHS says, because most varieties need one to two months at 0–10°C (32–50°F) for good bulb development. Some varieties are suitable for planting in late winter and early spring. [RHS]
• Plant cloves the right way up, with the flat end downwards and the pointed end upwards, 15 cm (6 in) apart, with the tip 2.5 cm (1 in) below the soil surface, and with rows 30 cm (1 ft) apart. [RHS]
• If the soil is heavy or wet over winter, the RHS advises starting cloves in modules in autumn, keeping them in an unheated greenhouse, a cold frame or a sheltered outdoor spot, then planting them out in spring, 15 cm apart. [RHS]
• Garlic can be grown in a container; pots should be at least 25 cm (10 in) deep, at the same spacing and depth as in the ground. [RHS]
• Before planting, the RHS says to apply about two bucketfuls of well-rotted (not fresh) manure or homemade garden compost every square metre or yard, on a sunny site with free-draining soil. [RHS]
• To improve bulb size, water during dry spells in spring and early summer, the RHS says, but do not water once the bulbs are large and well formed, and try to avoid wetting the leaves. [RHS]
• Remove any flower stems as soon as they start to form, the RHS says, or the plant’s energy goes into the flower rather than swelling the bulb, and the bulb will not store well. If picked young, while the flower is still in bud, the flower stalks (scapes) can be cooked. [RHS]
• Bulbs are ready to harvest once the leaves have turned yellow. Autumn-planted garlic is ready from late spring to early summer, and spring-planted garlic from mid-summer to early autumn. Do not delay: bulbs lifted late tend to open up and have a shorter storage life. [RHS]
• Dry the bulbs thoroughly in a single layer in the sun — a well-ventilated greenhouse is ideal — but avoid excessive heat above 30°C (86°F). Initial drying takes two to four weeks, depending on the weather. [RHS]
• Once the foliage is dry and rustling, cut it off and store the bulbs in a cool, dry place at 5–10°C (41–50°F). Hardneck varieties can store well for four to six months; softneck varieties store for longer, potentially up to a year. [RHS]
• Bulbs that do not divide into cloves are usually the result of insufficient cold weather over winter, the RHS says. Split bulbs can happen if the crop was harvested late. Green cloves are usually due to shallow planting: they can be used as normal, but are unlikely to store well. [RHS]
• Cloves that form on the stalk, known as “top sets”, are usually due to changeable or fluctuating temperatures in spring, and can be used as you would ordinary cloves. [RHS]
• The RHS plant profile rates Allium sativum as hardiness H4, and says it may be susceptible to allium leaf miner and onion fly, and to onion white rot, onion downy mildew and leek rust. [RHS]
• The RHS plant profile places garlic in the family Amaryllidaceae, and says to propagate it by dividing the bulb into cloves. [RHS]