Garlic

I have planted out four types of garlic, yes four different types. Why this extravagance you may ask?

Well I'm not sure. I use garlic in my cooking but generally its been the bog standard supermarket garlic. On holiday this year in the Isle of Wight we visited the garlic farm. It was here that I lost control and went wild with my wallet.


I bought 3 jars of chutney after a marathon tasting session to ensure that they were the three I liked the best. Plus some garlic to sow. After a period of indecision (we were in the shop a very long time all in all) I chose solent wight, lautrec wight and Provence wight bulbs for sowing.

Each of these garlics should have a different taste when we get to eat them. As I broke the bulbs apart you can really smell the difference between the varieties. I love their white papery skin and the shiny veneer of each clove. When I was younger one of the favorite drawings that I made was of a garlic plait the texture and bulbous shapes were fun to draw.
The Garlic farm is worth a visit if you are ever over there - time it right and you can take some garlic back home to grow. The farm has a few boards about growing and the history of garlic, but because of our timing we didn't see any garlic actually growing. They provide excellent planting instructions with your purchase and it even has recipes for roasting which I might have to try. I now realise that they are on the net so if this lot of planting prove to be good then I can order again next year. Mind you I would rather have the excuse to go back to the Isle of Wight again.

A work colleague of John's donated some elephant garlic to us to make up the fourth variety this is very mild compared to other garlic but is supposed to be good for roasting.

I also planted out my radar onions today.