Elephant Garlic Cloves (Autumn Planting)

What You'll Need

A garden fork or trowel • Well-rotted garden compost • Concentrated Slow-Release Onion, Garlic & Shallot Feed Granules • Horticultural fleece if birds are a problem • Horticultural grit if you have heavy soil

Prepare Your Soil

Choose an open, sunny position with fertile, free-draining soil. Elephant Garlic dislikes sitting in wet ground, particularly through winter. Work in well-rotted garden compost before planting and add horticultural grit if you have heavy soil to improve drainage.

Planting Your Garlic

Plant each clove with the flat base down and pointed end upwards, around 5–10cm deep and 20–30cm apart. Leave approximately 30cm between rows. Give the plants plenty of room, as Elephant Garlic develops into a much larger plant than traditional garlic.

Protecting Young Shoots

Birds can sometimes disturb newly planted cloves or young shoots before they've established. If this becomes a problem, cover the area with horticultural fleece or suitable netting until the plants are growing strongly.

Watering & Feeding

Water during prolonged dry periods, particularly in spring as the bulbs begin to develop. Keep the soil moist but never waterlogged and reduce watering as the foliage begins to yellow towards harvest time.

Watch for Flower Stems

Elephant Garlic can produce tall flower stems topped with rounded purple flower heads. Pinch these off as they develop to direct more of the plant's energy into producing the large bulb below ground. The young flower stems are edible too, with a mild garlic flavour.

Keep It Weed Free

Keep the ground around your plants clear of weeds, especially while they're establishing. Weed carefully to avoid damaging the developing bulbs beneath the soil.

Growing in Containers

Elephant Garlic can be grown successfully in containers, but those large bulbs need plenty of room. Choose a large, deep container with good drainage, allow 20–30cm between cloves and position it in full sun. Keep adequately watered during dry weather.

Good Companions

Elephant Garlic can be grown alongside a range of vegetables, but remember that the plants can reach around 1m tall. Give them enough room so they don't shade or crowd neighbouring crops as they develop.

Making the Most of Your Bed

Quick-growing salads and radishes can make use of spare ground while your Elephant Garlic is still developing. Harvest these early crops before the garlic plants reach their full size.

Crop Rotation

Although Elephant Garlic is more closely related to a leek than true garlic, it belongs to the wider allium family. Avoid repeatedly growing onions, shallots, leeks and garlic in the same ground to help reduce the build-up of soil-borne pests and diseases.

Planning Ahead

Where practical, leave three to four years before growing allium crops in the same ground again. Once your Elephant Garlic has been harvested, the cleared space can be used for later-sown salads and other quick-growing vegetables.

When to Harvest

Elephant Garlic is generally ready to lift in summer as the lower foliage begins to yellow and die back. Watch the plants rather than relying solely on a fixed date, as growing conditions can affect when those giant bulbs are ready.

Don't Leave It Too Long

Lift the bulbs once they're mature rather than leaving them in the ground for too long. Over-mature bulbs can begin to split apart, which can reduce their keeping quality.

How to Harvest

Choose a dry day and carefully loosen the soil beneath each bulb with a garden fork before lifting. The bulbs can become impressively large, so work well underneath them rather than pulling them out by the stem.

Drying Your Garlic

Leave freshly lifted bulbs somewhere warm, dry and well ventilated until the outer skins and foliage have dried thoroughly. Once dry, brush away loose soil rather than washing the bulbs.

Storing Your Harvest

Once thoroughly cured, store the bulbs somewhere cool, dry and well ventilated. Check them occasionally and use any damaged bulbs first.

Huge Cloves, Milder Flavour

Elephant Garlic may be enormous, but its flavour is milder and sweeter than traditional garlic. Those substantial cloves can be used generously when you want a mellow garlic flavour without too much bite.

Roasting Elephant Garlic

Roasting is one of the best ways to enjoy those enormous cloves. Cook them until soft and creamy, then squeeze the flesh from the skins and spread it onto warm bread or stir it into mashed potato, soups and sauces.

Slice It into Roasts and Bakes

The huge cloves are quick to peel and easy to slice, making them particularly handy for traybakes and roasted vegetables. Their gentler flavour means you can use generous pieces without overpowering the rest of the dish.

Use It Fresh

Its milder flavour also works well uncooked. Finely slice or grate Elephant Garlic into dressings, dips and salads for a fresh garlic flavour that's gentler than traditional garlic.

Understanding Elephant Garlic

Despite its name, Elephant Garlic isn't a true garlic. It's more closely related to a leek, but develops underground as an enormous bulb divided into large cloves and is planted and used in much the same way as garlic.

Bulb Size & Clove Numbers

Elephant Garlic is grown for its exceptional size, producing much larger bulbs and individual cloves than traditional garlic. Final bulb size will vary depending on growing conditions, soil, spacing and care throughout the season.

Hardneck Garlic

True hardneck garlic produces cloves around a firm central stem and typically develops an edible flower stem known as a scape. Elephant Garlic isn't a hardneck garlic, although it can also produce a tall flowering stem.

Softneck Garlic

True softneck garlic generally produces more cloves of varying sizes and has flexible foliage rather than the rigid central stem found in hardnecks. Elephant Garlic belongs to a different species and isn't classed as either hardneck or softneck garlic.

Your Elephant Garlic

You'll receive individual Elephant Garlic cloves ready to plant. Each clove has the potential to develop into a substantial bulb made up of several exceptionally large cloves, producing the oversized harvest this unusual allium is known for.

When Your Garlic Arrives

Plant your cloves as soon as conditions allow. If you can't plant straight away, keep them somewhere cool, shaded, dry and well ventilated until you're ready to get them into the ground.