View source for Garlic

{{SPlantbox
|familia=Alliaceae
|genus=Allium
|species=sativum
|common_name=Garlic
|name_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|habit=bulbous
|habit_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|Min ht box=12
|Min ht metric=in
|Max ht box=32
|Max ht metric=in
|height_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|Min wd box=12
|Min wd metric=in
|Max wd box=16
|Max wd metric=in
|width_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|lifespan=perennial
|life_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|exposure=sun
|sun_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|water=moist, moderate, dry
|features=flowers, edible
|flower_season=early spring, mid spring, late spring
|flower_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|flowers=white
|Min Temp Num=-10
|Temp Metric=°C
|temp_ref=Plants for a Future
|min_zone=8
|usda_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|max_zone=10
|image=Flickr - cyclonebill - Hvidløg.jpg
|image_width=240
|image_caption=Garlic
}}
'''''Allium sativum''''', commonly known as '''garlic''', is a species in the [[onion]] family [[Alliaceae]]. The garlic plant's [[bulb]] is the most commonly used part of the plant. With the exception of the single clove types, the bulb is divided into numerous fleshy sections called [[clove (disambiguation)|clove]]s.  The cloves are used for [[cloning]], consumption (raw or cooked), or for medicinal purposes, and have a characteristic pungent, spicy [[flavor]] that mellows and sweetens considerably with cooking.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/Alli_sat.html | title = Spice Pages: Garlic (Allium sativum, garlick) | accessdate = 2007-08-28 | author = Gernot Katzer| date = 2005-02-23}}</ref> The [[leaves]], and [[flowers]] ([[bulbil]]s) on the head ([[spathe]]) are also edible, and being milder in flavor than the bulbs,<ref name="AN"/> they are most often consumed while immature and still tender. 

{{Inc|
Garlic (Allium sativum, Linn.). Hardy perennial bulbous plant, closely allied to the onion. It is native of southern Europe. It has flat leaves and the bulb is composed of several separable parts or bulbels, called cloves. These cloves are planted, as are onion sets, in spring or in fall in the South. They mature in summer and early autumn, being ready to gather when the leaves die away. If the soil is rich, it may be necessary to break over the tops to prevent too much top growth and to make the bulbs better, as is sometimes done with onions. This is done when the top growth has reached normal full size. The cloves are usually set 4 to 0 inches apart in drills or rows, in ordinary garden soil. The bulbs are used in cookery, but mostly amongst the foreign population. Strings of bulbs braided together by their tops are common in metropolitan markets (Fig. 1622). The bulbs are white - skinned or sometimes rose-tinged.

Allium sativum, Linn. Garlic. Plant 12 in. or less: lvs. very narrow, keeled: fls. purple, often replaced by bulbels: bulbs small, breaking up into many small ones that are more or less covered with the dry scales. Eu.
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==Cultivation==
Garlic is easy to grow and can be grown year-round in mild climates.  In cold climates, cloves can be planted in the ground about six weeks before the soil freezes and harvested in late spring. Garlic plants can be grown close together, leaving enough room for the [[bulbs]] to mature, and are easily grown in containers of sufficient depth. When selecting garlic for planting, it is important to pick large heads to separate cloves from. Large cloves will also improve head size, along with proper spacing in the planting bed. Garlic plants prefer to grow in a soil with a high [[organic material]] content, but it is capable of growing in a wide range of soil conditions and [[PH]] levels.<ref name="SFNA"/> The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soil. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Garlic [[scape (botany)|scapes]] are removed in order to focus all the garlic's energy into bulb growth. The scapes are sold separately for cooking.

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Succeeds in most soils but prefers a sunny position in a moist light well-drained soil[1, 14, 16, 37]. Dislikes very acid soils[206]. Tolerates a pH in the range 4.5 to 8.3. The bulb is liable to rot if grown in a wet soil[27, 52]. Hardy to at least -10°c[206]. The bulbs should be planted fairly deeply[1]. There are a number of named varieties[200]. Bulb formation occurs in response to increasing daylength and temperature[200]. It is also influenced by the temperature at which the cloves were stored prior to planting. Cool storage at temperatures between 0 and 10°c will hasten subsequent bulb formation, storage at above 25°c will delay or prevent bulb formation[200, 206]. Grows well with most plants, especially roses, carrots, beet and chamomile, but it inhibits the growth of legumes[18, 20, 54]. This plant is a bad companion for alfalfa, each species negatively affecting the other[201]. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer[233].

===Propagation===
While sexual propagation of garlic by seed is possible, nearly all of the garlic in cultivation is done so asexually, by planting individual cloves in the ground.<ref name="SFNA"/>

Plant out the cloves in late autumn for an early summer crop[33, 200]. They can also be planted in late winter to early spring though yields may not be so good. Plant the cloves with their noses just below the soil surface[200]. If the bulbs are left in the ground all year, they will often produce tender young leaves in the winter[K].

===Pests and diseases===
Garlic plants are usually very hardy, and are not attacked by many pests or diseases. Garlic plants are said to repel [[Rabbits]] and [[Moles]].<ref name="AN"/> Two of the major [[pathogens]] that attack garlic are [[nematodes]] and white rot disease, which remain in the soil indefinitely once the ground has become infected.<ref name="SFNA"/> Garlic also can suffer from pink root, a typically nonfatal disease that stunts the roots and turns them pink or red.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r584100711.html |title=UC IPM: UC Management Guidelines for Pink Root on Onion and Garlic |publisher=Ipm.ucdavis.edu |date= |accessdate=2010-04-14}}</ref> 

==Varieties==
There are different types or subspecies of garlic, most notably hardneck garlic and softneck garlic. The [[latitude]] where the garlic is grown affects the choice of type as garlic can be day-length sensitive. Hardneck garlic is generally grown in cooler climates; softneck garlic is generally grown closer to the equator.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nj.com/warrenreporter/index.ssf/2008/12/farmers_forum_it_probably_came.html |title=Farmers Forum - It probably came from Gilroy | Warren Reporter |publisher=NJ.com |date= |accessdate=2009-12-06}}</ref>

''Allium sativum'' grows in the wild in areas where it has become [[naturalised]]. The "wild garlic", "crow garlic", and "[[field garlic]]" of [[United Kingdom|Britain]] are members of the species ''[[Allium ursinum]]'', ''[[Allium vineale]]'', and ''[[Allium oleraceum]]'', respectively. In [[North America]], ''[[Allium vineale]]'' (known as "wild garlic" or "crow garlic") and ''[[Allium canadense]]'', known as "meadow garlic" or "wild garlic" and "wild onion", are common [[weed]]s in fields.<ref>McGee p. 112</ref> One of the best-known "garlics", the so-called [[Elephant Garlic|elephant garlic]], is actually a wild leek (''[[Allium ampeloprasum]]''), and not a true garlic. [[Solo garlic|Single clove]] garlic (also called Pearl garlic or Solo garlic) also exists, originating in the [[Yunnan]] province of [[China]].

==Gallery==

<gallery perrow=5>
File:Garlic Bulbs 2.jpg|Garlic Bulbs and cloves
Image:Garlic in container.jpg|Garlic growing in a container.
Image:Garlic.jpg|Garlic bulbs and individual cloves, one peeled.
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}
*[http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Allium+sativum Plants for a Future] - source of part of this pages text under Creative Commons license.
*[[Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture]], by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
<!--- xxxxx  *Flora: The Gardener's Bible, by Sean Hogan. Global Book Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0881925381  -->
<!--- xxxxx  *American Horticultural Society: A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, by Christopher Brickell, Judith D. Zuk. 1996. ISBN 0789419432  -->
<!--- xxxxx  *Sunset National Garden Book. Sunset Books, Inc., 1997. ISBN 0376038608  -->

==External links==
*{{wplink}}

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