Elephant Garlic: A Milder Garlic Alternative for Your Garden
What is Elephant Garlic?
Imagine a giant garlic clove, but it’s not really garlic! Elephant garlic (Allium ampeloprasum) is a close relative of the leek with a milder garlic flavor. It has large, blue-green leaves and a tall, pink or purple flower stalk that blooms in spring or summer. Underneath the soil, it forms a large bulb with 5-6 big cloves surrounded by smaller ones. This hardy plant can grow up to 3 feet tall and is native to Asia.
Growing Elephant Garlic
Growing elephant garlic is a breeze! Here’s how:
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Choose the right cloves: Get large, firm seed cloves from a supplier or your local grocery store (but be aware that grocery store cloves may have been treated to prevent sprouting).
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Prepare the soil: Elephant garlic prefers well-draining soil. Dig down a foot and mix in a bucket of sand, granite dust, and humus/peat moss per 2×2 or 3×3 foot section. Add some manure and mulch around the plants to keep weeds away and nourish the soil.
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Plant the cloves: Break up the bulb into cloves. Plant them pointy side up, about 6 inches deep and 6-8 inches apart. If you plant the smaller corms (cloves on the outside of the bulb), they’ll produce a non-blooming plant with a single large clove in the first year. In the second year, it will start to separate into multiple cloves.
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Water and sunlight: Elephant garlic loves full sun and regular watering, about 1 inch per week. Water in the morning so the soil dries out by nightfall to prevent diseases.
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Harvest: Elephant garlic is ready to pick when the leaves start to die back, usually about 90 days after planting. Loosen the soil around the bulb and gently pull it out.
Caring for Elephant Garlic
Once planted, elephant garlic is pretty low-maintenance:
- It doesn’t need to be divided or harvested every year.
- It can be left to spread into a clump of flowering heads, which can deter pests but may become overcrowded if not thinned out.
- Water regularly, especially during spring.
- Top off the immature flower stalks (scapes) before they bloom to encourage bulb growth.
Elephant Garlic Uses
Elephant garlic can be used just like regular garlic, but with a milder flavor:
- Scapes: Pickle, ferment, stir-fry, or freeze them for up to a year.
- Bulb: Roast whole and spread on bread, sauté, slice, eat raw, or mince.
- Drying: Drying the bulb in a cool, dry place for a few months enhances its flavor and extends its shelf life up to 10 months.
Troubleshooting Common Problems
- Not sprouting: Grocery store cloves may have been treated to prevent sprouting. Try cloves from a supplier instead.
- Stunted growth: Overcrowding can lead to stunted growth. Thin out the clumps to give the plants more space.
- Pests: Aphids can be a problem. Remove them by spraying the plants with a strong stream of water or using an insecticidal soap.
With its easy-to-grow nature and versatile culinary uses, elephant garlic is a great addition to any garden!
