GROWING GARLIC

I don't pretend to be an expert here, but it is relatively easy to grow your own garlic, and like a lot of things I'm learning as I go through trial and error. It's as easy as poking the clove into the ground, and Bob's your knob. Within a few days, the cloves that have been planted will be poking their little heads up through the soil.

I've ran out of room in our garden so I've decided to plant in a pot and as with anything, I've used a good quality potting mix that has good drainage and have added some organic fertilizer before planting.

Separate the cloves before planting and then push into the soil pointy end up and about 8 cm deep, and it won't be long before they break the surface. When separating use the smaller coves nearer the center and preferably ones that may already a green shoot forming, these will take less time to germinate.

Garlic hates competition, so if in the garden keep the area well free of weeds, moist,  in full sun and fertilize regularly  It grows relatively fast and as soon as the stems start to die off, its ready for harvest.

Keep in a cool dry place and your garlic will last for up to eight months.

You might be like me and not have a great deal of choice. I just planted some of the garlic that I had purchased from the supermarket to give it a go. I had grown Russian garlic previously and it turned out fine.

It was interesting to find out that the growing industry in Australia is small, so we depend heavily on imports.  A lot is imported from China and has been treated with chemicals, growth retardants and bleached. This is as good a reason as any to start growing your own.