Garlic ‘Rhapsody Wight’ (Autumn Planting)

Why Plant Garlic in Autumn?

Autumn is an ideal time to plant ‘Rhapsody Wight’. Planting the garlic cloves before winter gives them time to establish roots, while the colder months provide the low temperatures needed for good bulb development. Growth picks up again in spring, helping this early variety develop bulbs ready to harvest from around June.

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. Avoid planting in freshly manured ground.

How to Plant Garlic Cloves

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, with the tip approximately 2–2.5cm below the soil surface. Space the cloves around 15cm apart, with 30cm between rows.

Watering & Feeding

Water during prolonged dry spells, particularly in spring as the bulbs begin to develop and swell. Keep the soil adequately moist without allowing it to become waterlogged, then reduce watering as the crop approaches maturity.

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 disturb the developing bulbs.

Growing Garlic in Pots & Containers

‘Rhapsody Wight’ can also be grown in a large container with good drainage. Choose a pot at least 30cm deep and allow around 15cm between plants. Check the compost regularly during dry weather, as container-grown garlic will need watering more often than plants in 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. Give each plant enough space and make sure neighbouring crops don't shade or crowd the developing garlic.

Make the Most of Your Plot

Quick-growing radishes and salad leaves can be grown nearby and harvested while your garlic is still developing. As ‘Rhapsody Wight’ can be lifted from around June, its early harvest also frees up useful growing space for summer and later-season crops.

Crop Rotation

Garlic belongs to the allium family, alongside onions, shallots and leeks. Avoid repeatedly growing these crops in the same ground, as they can be affected by some of the same soil-borne pests and diseases.

Planning Ahead

Where practical, leave three to four years before growing garlic, onions, shallots or leeks in the same ground again. Keeping your alliums moving around the vegetable plot is a simple way to reduce the build-up of potential problems in the soil.

When to Harvest Garlic

‘Rhapsody Wight’ is an early variety and can be ready to harvest from around June. Watch the plants rather than relying on the calendar alone – yellowing foliage is a useful sign that the bulbs are reaching maturity.

How to Harvest Garlic

Choose a dry day and use a garden fork to loosen the soil beneath each plant before gently lifting the bulbs. Take care not to pierce or bruise them, particularly if you're planning to store your crop.

Drying Your Garlic

Leave freshly harvested plants somewhere warm, dry and well ventilated until the outer skins and foliage are thoroughly dry. Curing the bulbs properly is important if you want to store them.

Storing Garlic

Once cured, keep the bulbs somewhere cool, dry and well ventilated. Check stored garlic occasionally and use any damaged or softening bulbs first.

Make a Garlic Plait

As ‘Rhapsody Wight’ is a softneck garlic, the dried foliage remains flexible enough to plait. Leave the stems attached after curing and braid several bulbs together for an attractive and practical way to store your crop.

Fresh, Zingy Garlic Flavour

‘Rhapsody Wight’ has a fresh, zingy flavour that's great in dishes where you want the garlic to come through clearly. Try it in pasta sauces, marinades, dressings, stir-fries and homemade garlic butter.

Use It Fresh

One of the pleasures of an early garlic is being able to use some of the crop soon after harvest. Freshly lifted garlic has a juicy texture and lively flavour, making it particularly good finely chopped into dressings, sauces and summer dishes.

Roasting Garlic

The large cloves are ideal for roasting. Cook them whole until soft and mellow, then squeeze them into mashed potatoes, soups and sauces or spread them onto warm bread.

Top Tip

Use some of your ‘Rhapsody Wight’ fresh for its lively early-season flavour, then cure the rest of the crop thoroughly for storage. That way you get the best of both from your harvest.

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 can develop into a complete new garlic bulb, turning a couple of planting bulbs into a much larger summer 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. Your pack contains 2 bulbs with approximately 10–12 cloves per bulb.

Hardneck Garlic

Hardneck garlic tends to produce fewer, larger cloves around a firm central stem. These varieties are 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

‘Rhapsody Wight’ is a softneck garlic. Softneck varieties don't have the rigid central stem found in hardnecks and generally produce more cloves of varying sizes. Their flexible dried foliage can be plaited and they generally store for longer than hardneck varieties.

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.