Elephant garlic: growing in your own garden

For a long time, the relative of the leek was almost forgotten. We show how to successfully grow elephant garlic in your own garden.

Remarkable, or how big does a single clove of elephant garlic appear compared to a regular clove of garlic? The giant garlic looks similar to leeks, but forms garlic-shaped bulbs. Find out how you can grow this mild alternative and rarity in your garden here.

The elephant garlic or giant garlic (Allium ampeloprasum subsp. ampeloprasum) is actually not closely related to our common garlic ( Allium sativum). However, both are members of the onion family (Alliaceae) and look surprisingly similar underground, because elephant garlic also develops many small spawning bulbs throughout the year, which are then harvested in autumn. The tubers reach the size of a regular onion with a diameter of about seven centimeters, but have a milder taste than the garlic commonly used in kitchens. However, the foliage of the giant garlic is more like its close relative, the leek (Allium ampeloprasum). From June onwards, the elephant garlic flowers white, pink or reddish in the typical Allium flower balls on long stalks. The plant reaches a height of up to 150 centimeters. Here are 6 tips for growing elephant garlic in your own garden.

1. The right place for elephant garlic

Elephant garlic prefers to grow on permeable, sandy soil with a good supply of nutrients. Sandy loamy soil is ideal for this, which can also store enough water for growth. Sunny and warm locations promote the development of the large tubers. In winter, the ground should not freeze completely, a reasonably protected bed also protects the elephant garlic from freezing. In addition, there should be no other bulbous plants near the plant, otherwise the risk of diseases increases significantly. It is also not suitable as a second crop after onions (Allium cepa), leeks or garlic.

Elephant garlic goes particularly well with umbellifers (Apiaceae) such as carrots (Daucus carota), fennel ( Foenicum vulgare) or parsnips (Pastinaca sativa), because here it drives away the carrot fly (Chamaepsila rosae), whose maggots penetrate which eats tasty root vegetables.

2. The right planting time for elephant garlic

Plant the individual cloves about 10 centimeters deep in the ground with the tip pointing upwards in autumn or spring from March. The distance between the individual bulbs should be about 20 centimeters. Cloves planted in the fall can root before winter and have a better start to the season next year. However, a very cold winter can also kill off the little plants, which is why it is always worth saving a few cloves for spring.

3. Fertilize and care for elephant garlic

For elephant garlic, adding compost in the spring is usually sufficient. If no compost is available, it is worth giving an organic long-term fertilizer, such as our Plantura organic universal fertilizer. Since the plants are somewhat sensitive to drought, the culture should be mulched regularly to ensure a closed soil surface. The water is held better in the soil, and the mulch decomposes over time and provides valuable nutrients. Finally, with a layer of mulch, weed seeds have a much harder time outdoing elephant garlic. You can find more benefits of mulching here. In the event of prolonged drought, the leek relatives should be watered regularly. Once the giant garlic starts to pucker and turn brown, it no longer needs additional water.

4. Harvest elephant garlic

Harvesting elephant garlic is very easy. It starts in July and can last until autumn. Once the plants have wilted and turned brown, the tubers can be dug up whole. If you want to store the tubers, it is best to let them dry with the soil. You can find more information and tips in our special article on harvesting and storing garlic.

5. Propagating Elephant Garlic

On the outside of the tuber there are often very small onions, but they can be planted out in the same way and will then grow to normal within a yearlarge single cloves and a year later develop into giant tubers. The cloves can also be planted out again and usually form a spherical Allium flower on a long flower stalk next to the tuber. However, these flowers are usually sterile and do not form seeds from which one could grow elephant garlic again. On the other hand, the variety can be preserved with vegetative propagation by tubers and cloves and there is no risk of crossbreeding with other types of onions.

6. Drying and Preserve Elephant Garlic

The small spring onions that sit on the outside of the bulbs of elephant garlic can be pickled just like pearl onions or used fresh. Freshly dug tubers are tied together by the herb and hung up in a dry place, protected from the weather. Alternatively, you can put the fresh cloves in oil, for example together with tomatoes. The dried tubers are best kept dry and in the dark with soil and the protective white skin at about 5 to 10 °C, otherwise the cloves will sprout like potatoes. They can then be kept throughout the winter and can be used continuously in the kitchen.

Unfortunately, elephant garlic is very rarely found in speci alty markets, so it is easier to buy the onions on the internet. A biological supply source is the Bioland-Hof Jeebel, which offers the rarity on its website biogartenversand.de.

If you are now curious and want to know more about garlic and its relatives, take a look at our article with 11 curious facts about garlic and let us surprise you.