Archive for September, 2016

Elephant garlic update (2)

Back in June (see this post), I reported on how some of my elephant garlic plants were doing really well, while others… weren’t. These had failed to thrive and had succumbed to our garden’s massive snail population before they had a chance to flower. The failed garlics one thing in common: they were the plants where I’d grown mizuna in the pot as a companion crop. I think it would have been OK if I’d taken the mizuna out the moment it started to bolt, but I left it in there and I think it probably sucked all the nutrients out of the compost, thus weakening the garlic plants.

The “mizuna garlic” bulbs never ripened off properly – they remained as undifferentiated globes. The healthy garlic plants (the ones with no mizuna) remained undamaged by snails and flowered as you’d expect. When I pulled them up in mid-August, the bulbs had matured and split into lovely big cloves. Which taste fab. (The “globes” are OK to eat as well. At least, we haven’t suffered any ill effects.)

Conclusion? Ten inch pots are fine for growing elephant garlic, provided you pull up any companion crops before they have a chance to weaken the garlic.

Elephant garlic harvest showing “non mizuna” and “mizuna” bulbs

Tomato time

It’s the second week in September, and the tomatoes are *just* hitting their stride. I’ve sliced a couple of Brandywines and fried them with our Sunday bacon and egg, and for the last two weeks we’ve been enjoying a small but steady supply of Gardener’s Delights and Tumbling Toms in salads. Today I made a tomato sauce to go with pork meatballs and linguine. I love this time of year.