Garlic ‘Caulk Wight’ (Autumn Planting)

Why Plant Garlic in Autumn?

Autumn is an ideal time to plant hardneck garlic. Getting the cloves into the ground now gives them time to establish roots before winter, while the colder months provide the period of low temperatures needed for good bulb development. When growth picks up again in spring, the plants are already established and ready to put their energy into the developing crop.

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. Garlic dislikes sitting in wet ground, particularly through winter. If your soil is heavy, work in plenty of organic matter and horticultural grit to improve the structure and drainage, or grow your garlic in a raised bed or container. Avoid planting in freshly manured ground.

Planting Your Garlic

Keep the bulbs whole until you're ready to plant, then carefully separate them into individual cloves, leaving the papery skins intact. Plant each clove with the flat base down and pointed end upwards. The tip should sit approximately 2–2.5cm below the soil surface, with around 15cm between plants and 30cm between rows.

Protecting Young Shoots

Birds can sometimes pull up newly planted cloves or emerging shoots before they've rooted securely. If this becomes a problem, cover the crop with horticultural fleece or suitable netting until the plants are well established.

Watering & Feeding

Water during prolonged dry spells, particularly while the bulbs are developing and swelling. Once the foliage begins to yellow as the crop approaches maturity, stop watering and allow the bulbs to mature ready for lifting.

Keep It Weed Free

Garlic has relatively shallow roots and doesn't compete well with weeds. Weed regularly by hand or hoe carefully between the plants, taking care not to damage the developing bulbs.

Growing in Containers

Garlic can also be grown in a large container with good drainage. Choose a pot at least 30cm deep, allow around 15cm between plants and check the compost regularly during dry weather, as containers will need watering more often than open ground.

Good Companions

Garlic takes up relatively little room above ground, so it fits easily into a productive vegetable plot alongside crops such as carrots, beetroot and leafy salads. Make sure neighbouring crops don't crowd the plants as the bulbs develop.

Making the Most of Your Bed

Quick-growing radishes and salad leaves can be grown nearby and harvested while your garlic is still developing. Leave enough space around the garlic for plenty of light and good airflow.

Crop Rotation

Garlic belongs to the onion family, so avoid planting it where onions, shallots, garlic or leeks have recently been grown. These crops can be affected by some of the same soil-borne pests and diseases.

Planning Ahead

Where practical, leave three to four years before growing onion-family crops in the same ground again. With ‘Caulk Wight’ typically ready around the end of June, the cleared space can then be used for later-sown salads and other quick-growing vegetables.

Look for an Early Harvest

‘Caulk Wight’ is an early-cropping garlic, with autumn-planted bulbs typically ready around the end of June. Watch the plants as harvest approaches and look for the foliage beginning to yellow rather than relying on the calendar alone.

Don't Leave It Too Long

Lift mature bulbs promptly rather than leaving them sitting in the ground. ‘Caulk Wight’ develops particularly tight wrappers that help reduce the tendency of hardneck bulbs to split and open, but harvesting at the right stage will help keep the bulbs firm and intact.

Lift Carefully

Choose a dry day and loosen the soil beneath each bulb with a garden fork before gently lifting it. Avoid pulling hard on the foliage, and take care not to pierce or bruise the bulbs.

Drying Your Garlic

Allow the freshly lifted bulbs to dry thoroughly somewhere warm, dry and well ventilated. As the outer layers dry, they can be cleaned back to reveal the attractive marbled purple-striped skins underneath.

Storing Your Harvest

Once completely dry, keep the bulbs somewhere cool, dry and well ventilated. Check them occasionally during storage and use any bulbs that begin to soften or deteriorate first.

Big Cloves, Less Fiddly Prep

One of the real kitchen advantages of ‘Caulk Wight’ is its large, easy-peeling cloves. There's less fiddling with lots of tiny cloves, making it particularly handy when a recipe calls for a generous amount of garlic.

Make the Most of Those Large Cloves

Crush or finely chop the cloves into pasta sauces, curries, marinades and stir-fries, or slice them into traybakes with potatoes and vegetables. Their generous size also makes them particularly convenient for recipes that use whole cloves.

Roast Them Whole

Leave the cloves whole and roast them until soft, then squeeze the cooked garlic from its skin. Stir it into mashed potatoes, soups and sauces, mix it into butter or spread it straight onto warm bread.

Top Tip

When a recipe calls for several cloves, remember that ‘Caulk Wight’ produces particularly large cloves. Start with fewer than you might use from a smaller-cloved variety, then add more to taste.

Understanding Your Garlic Bulbs

Garlic is supplied as a whole bulb made up of individual cloves. Before planting, carefully split the bulb apart and plant each clove separately. Each healthy clove has the potential to grow into a complete new bulb, so one garlic bulb can give you several plants and a much bigger harvest.

Bulb Size & Clove Numbers

Garlic is a natural product, so bulb size and the number and size of cloves will vary. A bulb with fewer cloves isn't necessarily smaller or poorer quality – it may simply contain fewer, larger cloves. ‘Caulk Wight’ is naturally large-cloved, and your pack contains 2 bulbs with approximately 6–8 cloves per bulb.

Hardneck Garlic

Hardneck varieties tend to produce fewer, larger cloves around a firm central stem. They're particularly well suited to colder conditions, making them a useful choice for gardeners in northern and cooler parts of the UK. They also produce a flowering stem called a scape, which can be harvested while young.

Softneck Garlic

Softneck varieties generally produce more cloves of varying sizes and don't have the rigid central stem found in hardnecks. Their softer, flexible foliage means the cured bulbs can be plaited, and they generally have a longer storage life than hardneck types.

When Your Garlic Arrives

Keep the bulbs whole until you're ready to plant, then carefully separate them into individual cloves, leaving their papery skins intact. If you can't plant straight away, keep the bulbs somewhere cool, dry and well ventilated until you're ready to get them into the ground.