Garlic

We all love garlic in food (except vampires maybe) and know that it adds depth and zest to our savoury dishes. We all know, also, that the next day, garlic breath can be a total turn off! Garlic is more than just a culinary herb though.

Cultivation

Although this plant is oriental in origin, it is widely cultivated. In April, plant out individual cloves in well prepared and dry, well draining soil, at around a distance of 6 – 8 inches from each other. By July, or at the latest, August, you should be able to harvest the bulbs. The bulbs are ready to be taken from the soil when the green leaves begin to wither slightly.

Parts used

The fresh bulb is widely used, the dried bulb less often so. Garlic oil is extracted commercially to provide an odourless version of the plant’s benefits to consumers.

Uses

Apart from making your food taste great, garlic is a strong antibiotic and has a health giving benefit for the gastro-intestinal tract. Garlic also has expectorant properties and can help clear a troublesome cough. Some people claim that it helps benefit those with high blood pressure (hypertension) but conclusive scientific trials have not been carried out to test this claim. Because some people find the flavour disagreeable, and many people find the smell horrible, garlic can be taken finely chopped in milk when it is useful for high blood pressure, stomach upsets – especially diarrhoea – and bronchial catarrh. If you eat a leaf or two of parsley (preferably curled, not flat leaved) straight after consuming garlic, the smell will be largely nullified.

Garlic photograph by iLoveButter from flickr under a creative commons attribution licence.

 

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