Garlic

Here is the first of a series of plant profiles from our master gardeners,. Sharon has delivered a timely article on garlic.

Latin name - allium sativum

Family - amaryllis

Native to Central Asia and northeastern Iran.

Uses - numerous culinary and medicinal uses 

Politics -  In the 1990s China flooded the Canadian market
with inexpensive garlic.  In a move to capture more market
share, Chinese garlic was sold for less than the transportation
costs.The strategy worked and put many small Canadian
garlic growers out of business. In 2018, according to Statistics
Canada, Canada imported 21000 metric tons (or 46 million
pounds) of fresh garlic. The majority of fresh garlic available in
Canadian grocery stores still comes from industrial growers in
China. But locally and backyard grown garlic has more flavour
and nutrients. It's also so easy to grow that it's worth a little
part of your gardening real estate.

Grow - October is the time to plant.  Start with seed garlic or
garlic from the farmer's market.  Break the bulbs into cloves,
leave on the paper coating and plant them in a bed with some
aged manure or compost.  Cover them with mulch and ignore
them.
In the spring when you see green growth, give them some
nitrogen fertilizer (aged chicken manure works or mulch with
grass clippings).  You may need to water if we have some dry
hot weather in May or June. Scapes (the curly stem and bulb
at the top) can be harvested (and eaten) to force the plant to
grow bigger bulbs.  Harvest the bulbs in July once about ⅔ of
the leaves are yellow. Pull the whole plant. Place in a dry and
dark place to dry out for a month. Then cut off the stalks. Put
your bigger bulbs aside as seed for the next year and start
eating the rest.  Garlic can keep for a few months.
Garlic can also be preserved by freezing, dehydrating or
pickling in vinegar.

Element-ary my dear Watson!

A RECIPE FOR GARLIC LOVERS (from editor files)

CREAMY ROASTED GARLIC POTATO SOUP WITH ROASTED BRUSSELS total time:1 HR Yields 4

Soup Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 1 sweet onion, diced 3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and chopped 4 to 5 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock 2 whole bulbs roasted garlic 1/3 cup cream 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper chili oil for serving

Roasted Brussels

Oil 1/2 pound Brussels Sprouts, stems removed and outer leaves removed salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Coat sprouts with oil.

Roast Brussels Sprouts in a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes or until outside leaves are crispy and slightly charred.

For soup:

Heat a large stock pot over medium heat and add olive oil and butter. Once melted, stir in the onion with a pinch of salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and enough stock to cover the potatoes – starting with 4 cups and using more if needed. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Cover and cook until the potatoes are tender and falling apart, about 20 to 30 minutes. Turn off the heat. Carefully add the mixture to a blender. Squeeze out all the roasted garlic cloves from the bulbs and add them to the blender too. Puree the soup until totally creamy and smooth. Pour the mixture back into the pot and heat over low heat. Add the cream, salt and pepper. Taste and season additionally with salt and pepper if needed. Serve the soup and drizzle the chili oil on top. Chop Brussels and add as garnish, eat!

Chili oil can be replaced by a sprinkle each of red pepper flakes and dried ginger.

To roast garlic https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/roasted_garlic/

GARLIC TIP FOR GARDENERS from Trowel and Error by Sharon Lovejoy

For plants with fungal, viral and bacterial diseases
Puree two cloves garlic in a blender, add 1 quart (roughly a litre) water and continue blending for about 5 minutes.. Strain and add 1/8th teaspoon liquid soap. Pour in to a storage container with tight lid. When need add one part garlic mixture to ten parts water in a spray bottle. Two handfuls of the green leaves from growing garlic can be used instead of cloves.