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The Tucson Gardener |
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The Big Garlic The problem is you have to refrain from eating your first crop and only chow down on part of the next season's bounty. Before you know it you'll have more elephant garlic than you know what to do with. An added bonus are the large flower heads that can be cut and dried for floral arrangements and the unmistakable garlic aroma. This desert gardener raises the garlic to maturity in a 4 by 10 foot raised bed with plenty of compost or steer manure worked into the soil. Moisture is maintained through the long growing season using soaker hose.
If you use much garlic in your cooking you know how troublesome those small cloves can be to peel and mince. With elephant garlic you don't have that problem. Although they have a milder flavor than the smaller varieties each clove has some genuine substance to it as does the fist-sized head of elephant garlic. Care must be taken when harvesting the garlic to keep from damaging the protected cloves. Often you'll find small bulblets hanging on to the parent. Drying the harvested garlic is no problem in the harsh desert sun of late May or early June. In fact if you're not careful the sun can cook the garlic while it dries. You can hang the plants to air dry or spread them out in a shady spot where they can get plenty of air circulation. When dry, the soil covered outer sheaths slough off easily and the stalk and roots have shrunk in size. Remove the roots and stalk and you're ready to cook up a garlic fest all year long. Don't forget to save the largest cloves for planting in the fall for next year's garlic crop. (1998)
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