Green garlic tastes great and is good for you. Compared to ripe garlic, it has a milder flavour, which makes it useful in soups, stir-fries, and salads. In Indian kitchens, green garlic is used especially during the winter and is particularly popular in regional cuisines across the country because its fresh taste goes well with many foods. Green garlic that has been finely chopped is often added to parathas, stews, and dal to make them smell and taste better.
It's also added to chutneys, chaats, and stir-fries. In Gujarat, green garlic is an important part of seasonal recipes like Undhiyu. In North India, it is used to make saag, or cooked with winter vegetables.
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Green garlic is good for you in many ways. It helps your immune system and keeps you from getting winter illnesses because it is high in vitamins A and C. Its high antioxidant content fights inflammation and oxidative stress, which is good for your health as a whole. Because it contains allicin, green garlic is also thought to help digestion, protect the heart by cutting cholesterol, and keep blood pressure in check.
It grows faster than regular garlic, so you can eat fresh food in just a few weeks. It doesn't need much care or room, so it's perfect for small gardens, balconies, or windowsills. Because it grows best when it's cool, green garlic is a great crop for winter or early spring.
Temperatures should be cool, ideally between 10°C and 20°C. You will also need soil that drains well, and is full of nutrients.
Planting Green Garlic
To begin with, choose healthy garlic plants from a source you can trust. If you want to keep bulbs from growing, don't treat them with chemicals. You can use both hardneck and softneck garlic, but hardneck garlic tends to make more flavourful green garlic. Loosen the soil until it's 8 to 10 inches deep and add well-rotted dog or cat manure. This keeps the dirt healthy and helps plants grow well.
Take the garlic bulb apart into pieces, but don't remove the papery skin. Plant each clove so that the pointy end faces up. Space them about 2 inches apart and 2 to 4 inches apart. Make sure the flat part of the root faces down. To help the cloves settle in after planting, give the dirt a little water. Keep the wetness level steady, but don't water too much to avoid rot.
Planting In A Pot
You can easily grow green garlic in pots if you don't have a yard. Choose a container that is wide, small, and has good drainage. Put in potting mix that has been mixed with soil. Plant the garlic cloves making sure there is enough space between them. Put the container somewhere warm and water it often. Because potting mix dries out faster than yard soil, green garlic grown in containers needs to be watered a little more often. Plant garlic cloves every two to three weeks to get a steady yield. To keep the soil from getting too dry and diseases from building up, don't put garlic or other alliums in the same spot year after year. You can also grow green garlic from garlic scraps by putting sprouted cloves or the bulb's base.
Caring For The Green Garlic Plant
Green garlic needs to be watered often, especially when it's dry. To get regular growth, keep the soil damp but not soaked. Every two weeks, give the plants organic liquid feed or a balanced fertiliser. This makes them grow big and strong. Get rid of the weeds around the plants to make them less competitive for water and nutrients. Pests don't usually bother green garlic, but you might sometimes find bugs or fungal diseases. If you need to, use natural cures like neem oil or organic fungicides.
Harvesting Green Garlic
Green garlic can be picked anywhere from 6 to 8 weeks after planting, based on how well it grows. The plants should have bright green leaves and be 8 to 12 inches tall. It's easy to harvest. Use a trowel or fork to break up the dirt around the base. Hold the plant at the base and carefully pull it out. Get rid of any extra dirt and, if you want, trim the roots. You can cook with the stem, leaves, and developing bulb as a whole plant.