Growing elephant garlic plant in garden: easy guide

Tired of seeing the ordinary look of garlic ?, you want a giant garlic ?, let me introduce you to the elephant garlic plant, growing elephant garlic plant in your garden is also very possible, you may or may not have met this big one in your life, but surely having it in your hands will be unique as the uniqueness of its shape.

 

Elephant garlic or Allium ampeloprasum var. Ampeloprasum, it is most preferable for curious gardener who love to taste new things all the time, growing elephant garlic plant in your space will be one of those experiences indeed, but in order to enjoy with it and use it, you must firstly know how to handle it, well, if you are interested enough, come with me because we will talk about it, how to grow it, how to care for it, and much more, let’s dive in :

you will find in this article :

 

 

 

 

Is elephant garlic hardneck or softneck ?

The elephant garlic plant is not hardneck or softneck, the shape of the cloves is similar alike, the taste is like mild garlic true, it can be served and used like the ordinary garlic, but when talking about the variety, it is similar to leek more than the garlic in the reality.

 

Is elephant garlic easy to grow?

This plant, the elephant garlic, it really don’t need that much of attentions to grow it and care for it, it will be very easy to grow in your space garden, and it will take from you only couple minutes in the day.

 

Does the elephant garlic plant flower ?

Yes, the elephant garlic plant do flower, but when you grow elephant garlic plant for the first time, the first year it will not produce flowers until the year after that, the flowers or more likely the scapes has a purple color with big edible shape, and the good part is that the scapes can be used and eaten in many various ways. also read growing garlic at garden.

 

Can elephant garlic be grown in containers ?

Yes, the elephant garlic plant can be grown in the pots and containers, you just need to respect the necessary conditions to grow it and find a great results with this great vegetable.

 

When should I plant elephant garlic?

The best time for growing elephant garlic plant in the garden is in fall, to be exact in the late October is considered the earliest planting time, and for the latest planting is in month of December, it is more preferable and suitable for the elephant garlic plant to be planted before the first frost of the season. full article. 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Growing elephant garlic plant in garden:

The elephant garlic is great choice for your garden space if you want to enjoy with this vegetable by planting it, easy to grow and will bring brighten view with its purple flowers.

Growing elephant garlic plant in your space garden will need or require some conditions like any other plant or tree, the elephant garlic plant when it has fully grown will take roughly 1 to 2 width in the planting site, and it can reach 2–3 feet in tall, in order to cultivate this elephant garlic you will need :

 

 

elephant garlic bulbs :

It is best to have those bulbs from the local garden stores and not from the commercial supermarket ones, you can have those also from the online stores also, these bulbs are more suitable for the growing process, and they are not chemically cured.

 

Soil for elephant garlic: 

The type of soil that suit growing elephant garlic plant at garden space is loamy soil, with a neutral acidity, that is well-drained soil, which permit the water to seep through the soil and prevent the rotten of the roots of elephant garlic.

 

Sunlight: 

Before choosing the planting site for growing elephant garlic plant, you should know that your plant is thriving in the full sun site, which require choosing a place where the sunlight will reach your elephant garlic along the day with amount of at least 6 to 8 hours every day, this does not mean that your plant will not grow in partial shady spaces, it will grow this is true, but you will see smaller bulbs if you do that, if you want bigger ones, grow it in sunny places, and you will be awarded with giants garlic.

 

 

Temperature and humidity needs:

The best climate for growing elephant garlic plant at your space garden will be above 20 °Fahrenheit and 40 Fahrenheit at max, because this vegetable does not prefer the hot sunlight and high humidity above 50 %, those conditions must be applied to prevent the corruption of roots, planting your elephant garlic in a place protected from the strong wind is also good for it to grow well, it can be grown through the hardiness USDA zones from 3 to 9.

 

Fertilizer:

The soil that used to grow elephant garlic should be rich with organic matters, after your vegetable has grown, you can use some extra layer of aged compost above the surface of the plant to enrich it and help it to grow at best and produce bigger bulbs.

 

Watering: 

The watering needs for elephant garlic will be around 1 inch weekly, this vegetable need moist soil, consider watering it if you notice that the soil is almost dry, do not make it soggy, this can lead to the roots rot.

 

 

Planting elephant garlic steps: 

 

1 dig a hole and prepare the soil like we said previously, you can use beds for the planting process, it will be suitable also.
2 Take the elephant garlic bulb and divide it into cloves by your hand, let they in their papery skin.
3 Put a clove in each hole, the depth for planting elephant garlic cloves will be from 4 to 6 inches, if you want to plant multiple cloves you should space between each hole with 8 inches to let the air circulate between your plants when they reach full maturity.
4 Cover the cloves with the soil, do not press the soil above the cloves, it is preferable to let it loose which will help when the cloves grow the first sprouts.
5 Water it by it needs.

 

 

 

 

2 harvesting elephant garlic plant

 

After you plant your elephant garlic, it will take about 8 months from the first planting time, the harvest time will be in the following summer in July or June according to the planting time of course.

You will know that your elephant garlic plant is ready for the harvesting when you see that the stem is becoming from green color to yellow, you can pick your vegetable then.

Like we mentioned previously, in the first year your elephant garlic will not produce flowers, it will also produce one big bulb in the first harvesting, if you want bulbs with cloves you can delay the harvest to the next summer, and you will find the bulbs has grown with multiple cloves from 3 to 8 ones at most, it is always depends on what kind you want to harvest.

 

 

3 care tips for growing elephant garlic plant in garden:

 

• It is preferable to water your garlic in the first morning.
• If your zone has a lot of rain drops, do not water your plant because it has already the watering needs.
• Put the mulch or straw to protect the elephant garlic roots from to overheat or freezing weather.
• Using compost during the growing process will give extra boost for the growth and the productivity for your elephant garlic.
• In order to produce bigger bulbs, you should cut the scapes before they flower to let the nutrients returns to the bulbs not the scapes.

 

 

4 store tips for elephant garlic plant:

 

If you want to store your elephant garlic bulbs for later use, this is possible, but firstly your bulbs must be cured, in order to do that you should put them in a place with no light, the air circulate around them for a time between 3 and 8 weeks.

after that you should cut the unnecessary roots and stems with your hands and not with water, you can store them in a place with a temperature from 40 to 55 °Fahrenheit, you can store them up to 10 months easily, the fresh ones will be much better than the stored ones, but the great flavorful taste will remain in your stored elephant garlic.

 

 

 

5 benefits of growing elephant garlic plant in garden:

It is always a great experience to grow new vegetables every each time, growing elephant garlic plant at your garden space will be good one too, and the joy that comes with it will be unique as the uniqueness of this vegetable.

 

as you may know, when growing it you will be rewarded with the bulbs in every harvesting season, not to mention to many various ways that you will use these vegetables in your salads and your meals with it, hope you find this topic useful and helpful for you, happy gardening.