Elephant garlic
SKU:
$28.00
$12.00 - $65.00
(Levant or Russian garlic) - allium ampeloprasum
It is very hardy with large blue-green strap-like leaves with a central rib, the flower stalk can be up to 6’ high. Large pink or purple flowers appear in spring and summer. The bulbs, can weigh more than a lb each and can grow to more than 6”! They consist of 5 or 6 large cloves, surrounded by small bulblets. Plants that do not flower often form only one large, symmetrical clove known as a round, rather than a bulb. Plants grown from rounds, or from very large cloves, usually produce a large bulb with several cloves and a flower stalk. So elephant garlic tends to alternate between the production of cloves and the production of rounds and may go to seed only every second year.
Elephant garlic does best in rich, deeply cultivated, well-drained soil and likes full sun. It is a useful home garden vegetable especially in warmer, more humid climates where true garlic is difficult to grow. It can grow from the tropics to temperate regions.
Elephant garlic has a mild, sweet flavour that is somewhere between garlic and onion. Cloves are large, easy to peel and can be eaten raw, sliced into salads. It can also be steamed or boiled as a vegetable, cooked like onions in a soup or baked in the oven. Young leaves can be sliced and added to salads or used as a garnish. It is high in vitamins A, C and E.
It is very hardy with large blue-green strap-like leaves with a central rib, the flower stalk can be up to 6’ high. Large pink or purple flowers appear in spring and summer. The bulbs, can weigh more than a lb each and can grow to more than 6”! They consist of 5 or 6 large cloves, surrounded by small bulblets. Plants that do not flower often form only one large, symmetrical clove known as a round, rather than a bulb. Plants grown from rounds, or from very large cloves, usually produce a large bulb with several cloves and a flower stalk. So elephant garlic tends to alternate between the production of cloves and the production of rounds and may go to seed only every second year.
Elephant garlic does best in rich, deeply cultivated, well-drained soil and likes full sun. It is a useful home garden vegetable especially in warmer, more humid climates where true garlic is difficult to grow. It can grow from the tropics to temperate regions.
Elephant garlic has a mild, sweet flavour that is somewhere between garlic and onion. Cloves are large, easy to peel and can be eaten raw, sliced into salads. It can also be steamed or boiled as a vegetable, cooked like onions in a soup or baked in the oven. Young leaves can be sliced and added to salads or used as a garnish. It is high in vitamins A, C and E.