Focus on… Autumn-planted garlic

IF you crave the plumpest garlic cloves, autumn planting is a must. Here’s how to guarantee the most glorious of garlic gluts.

Often first-time garlic growers can feel a bit disappointed with the size of homegrown cloves. Spring plantings don’t have as much time in the ground to bulk up, so if you can graduate to starting crops off in autumn, you’ll have a better chance of creating decent bulbs. The extra growing time encourages a more extensive root system to form, which in turn gives more foliage to fuel large heads.

“The extra growing time encourages more roots”

There are two types of garlic: softneck and hardneck. Even though hardnecks are generally hardier, you can plant both varieties in autumn (see my tips on the following page), depending on your preference. Autumn varieties have greater winter chill period than spring types. Generally, softnecks have a milder flavour and, not producing