Allium sativum
White garlic, common garlic, cultivated garlic: sowing garlic rather than planting cloves is a little-known but highly rewarding approach. In the first year, the plant develops its foliage and a small bulb; in the second, it forms the garlic heads that you can then replant as cloves, year after year. Throughout its growth, the stems and young leaves can already be eaten.
Characteristics:
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Progressive harvest: stems and young leaves can be eaten from the first year, even before the bulbs have formed.
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Two-year cycle: garlic heads form in the second year, after which the crop is perpetuated through cloves.
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Extremely hardy: it withstands temperatures of -15 °C and below, but is particularly sensitive to moisture.
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Low-maintenance: it requires very little water and no special fertilization.
Sowing advice:
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Exposure: sunny, in temperate climates.
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Soil: light, loose and above all perfectly well-drained — this is the critical point. Garlic rots in heavy, damp soil much more readily than it freezes. Avoid fresh manure and nitrogen-rich amendments: they encourage foliage at the expense of the bulb. In clay soil, grow it on a raised mound.
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Method: sow from February to April, or from August to September, directly in the ground, covering lightly. See how to sow your seeds.
Care advice:
- Water very sparingly, or not at all: excess water is its main enemy. Hoe regularly to prevent competition from weeds.
- Tip: if flower stalks appear in the second year, cut them off. The plant will then focus its energy on the bulb — and these stalks, known as garlic scapes, are delicious when sautéed.
Harvest advice:
- Pick young stems and leaves as needed throughout the growing season: their flavor is milder than that of the bulb and they add flavor to salads, omelets and soups.
- Harvest the bulbs in the second year, when two-thirds of the foliage has turned yellow. Leave them to dry in a dry place for about two weeks before braiding or storing them.
Beneficial companion plants:
Benefits for biodiversity:
- Its sulfurous smell disrupts the orientation of several pests — aphids, carrot flies and mites — making it a natural ally for neighboring crops.
- If you allow a flower stalk to bloom, its white umbel will be visited by bees.
Uses:
- Raw cloves to flavor raw vegetables, salads and sauces; cooked cloves for meat, fish and slow-cooked dishes. The young leaves, stems and garlic flowers can also be used in cooking.
Harvesting your own seeds:
Once you have obtained your first heads, the simplest approach is to replant the best cloves each autumn: this is how garlic has traditionally been perpetuated, adapting a little more to your soil with each generation. See how to save your seeds.
Commitment to Quality: at SemiSauvage - Permaculture, we grow and select our seeds with respect for living things as our guiding principle. Based near the Auvergne Volcanoes, we choose reproducible, non-hybrid varieties, tested for their germination rate, carefully sorted and packaged, with no chemical treatment. Our belief: to restore gardeners' ability to resow, year after year, seeds that truly belong to them.
Start your own line of garlic, from seed.
