SEATTLE — Garlic is both a nutritious and tasty way to boost your meals when cooking. Turns out it's not that difficult to grow either. Ciscoe Morris shows us how!
Be chic! Plant garlic in your home garden.
Garlic has long been one of the most popular herbs. As far back as 2000 B.C., garlic was used as a remedy for 22 health problems including headaches, worms, tumors, pimples and heart ailments. Modern day studies have found that it boosts the immune system, lowers cholesterol and helps fight cancer. According to Greek mythology, eating garlic even saved Odysseus from being turned into a pig. It's hard to say if all of the claims are true, but one thing's for sure: It tastes great in all sorts of cooking.
October is the best month to plant garlic in order to give the bulbs time to form roots before winter cold arrives. It’s best to purchase garlic cloves from nurseries. Avoid store bought garlic. It could have a fungus disease that might make it impossible to grow garlic in that location again for a number of years. Garlic is easy to plant, but the soil must be loose and well drained. Separate the cloves and plant the biggest ones, 4 inches apart, chubby side down, and cover the top with 2 inches of soil. Wait to fertilize until spring growth appears (usually in February) then apply a high nitrogen fertilizer such as blood or fishmeal every two weeks and keep the soil evenly moist until growth slows down around the summer solstice. In late June, cut back on watering. Harvest when only 3 or 4 leaves remain on the stem. If you like hot garlic, consider growing hard neck varieties. They don’t store as long as the soft neck types, but they have much stronger flavor. Don’t even consider biting into a raw clove of ‘Korean Red’ (aka ‘Korean Red-Hot’) unless a fire extinguisher is within reach!
Ciao!
Ciscoe
Watch New Day Northwest 11 AM weekdays on KING 5, and streaming live on KING5.com. Connect with New Day via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.