Elephant Garlic Cloves (Spring Planting)

What You'll Need

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

Prepare Your Soil

Choose an open, sunny position with fertile, free-draining soil. Elephant Garlic needs plenty of room to develop its large bulbs and dislikes sitting in wet ground. If your soil is heavy, work in organic matter and horticultural grit to improve the structure and drainage.

Planting Your Elephant 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. Avoid forcing the cloves into the soil, as this can damage the base.

Protecting Young Shoots

Birds can sometimes disturb newly planted cloves or emerging shoots. If this becomes a problem, cover the area with horticultural fleece or suitable netting until the plants are well established.

Watering & Feeding

Water during prolonged dry periods, particularly while the bulbs are developing in late spring and early summer. Keep the soil moist without waterlogging it, then reduce watering as the crop approaches harvest.

Watch for Flower Stems

Elephant Garlic can produce tall flower stems topped with rounded purple flower heads. If your priority is developing the bulbs, remove the flower stems as they appear so the plant can direct more of its energy below ground.

Keep It Weed Free

Keep the ground around your plants clear of weeds so they aren't competing for water and nutrients. Weed carefully to avoid damaging the developing bulbs.

Growing in Containers

Elephant Garlic grows well in containers, but those large bulbs need plenty of room. Choose a deep, generously sized pot with good drainage and allow around 20–30cm between cloves. Position in full sun and water during dry weather.

Good Companions

Elephant Garlic can be grown alongside a range of vegetables, but allow plenty of space around each plant so its broad foliage isn't crowded and the bulbs have room to develop.

Making the Most of Your Bed

Quick-growing salads and radishes can make use of spare ground early in the season. Harvest them before the Elephant Garlic reaches full size and begins to need more space.

Crop Rotation

Elephant Garlic is an allium, so avoid repeatedly growing it in ground recently used for onions, leeks, garlic or other alliums. Rotation can 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 the bulbs have been harvested, the space can be used for later-sown salads and other quick-growing vegetables.

When to Harvest

Spring-planted Elephant Garlic is generally ready to lift in summer. Watch for the lower leaves beginning to yellow and die back while some of the upper growth remains green.

Don't Leave It Too Long

Lift the bulbs once they're mature rather than leaving them in the ground until all the foliage has completely died away. This helps keep the bulbs and their protective skins in good condition.

How to Harvest

Those large bulbs need careful lifting. Loosen the soil around and beneath each plant with a garden fork, taking care not to pierce the bulb, then lift it gently from the ground.

Drying Your Elephant Garlic

Leave the freshly lifted bulbs somewhere warm, dry and well ventilated to cure. Once thoroughly dry, brush away loose soil and trim away the roots.

Storing Your Harvest

Once properly cured, keep the bulbs somewhere cool, dry and well ventilated. Check them occasionally and use any bulbs that begin to soften first.

Milder Than Standard Garlic

Elephant Garlic has a milder, mellower flavour than standard garlic, so those enormous cloves can be used generously without overpowering a dish.

Roast the Cloves Whole

Those huge cloves really come into their own when roasted. Cook them whole until soft and sweet, then squeeze the flesh into mashed potato, sauces and soups, or spread it straight onto warm bread.

Use It Fresh

Slice or finely chop fresh Elephant Garlic into salads, dressings and salsas when you want a gentler garlic flavour. Its substantial cloves also make preparation particularly easy.

Try It on the Barbecue

Wrap whole cloves in foil with a little oil and cook them on the barbecue until soft, or add thick slices to vegetable skewers and grilled dishes for a mellow garlic flavour.

Understanding Your Elephant Garlic

Despite its name, Elephant Garlic isn't a true garlic. It's more closely related to the leek, although it grows as a large bulb divided into substantial cloves and is planted and cooked in much the same way as garlic.

Bulb Size & Cloves

Elephant Garlic produces exceptionally large bulbs made up of a relatively small number of enormous cloves. Bulb and clove size will naturally vary depending on growing conditions.

Elephant Garlic

Botanically known as Allium ampeloprasum, Elephant Garlic combines impressive size with a much milder flavour than true garlic. Mature plants can reach around 1m (3.5ft) tall.

Spring Planting

Plant the cloves from January to March once conditions allow. Give them plenty of space, as both the plants and the developing bulbs are considerably larger than standard garlic.

When Your Elephant Garlic Arrives

Keep the cloves somewhere cool, dry and well ventilated until you're ready to plant. Plant them as soon as conditions are suitable rather than leaving them in storage unnecessarily.