High Calorie Gardening: Number one on my high calorie must grow foods is Garlic.

Number one on my high calorie must grow foods is Garlic.

You heard me right I said Garlic. One cup of garlic has 202 calories. Of course we generally only use a few cloves at a time. But if you are using roasted garlic you may use a whole bulb. So garlic brings a lot to the table calorie wise for every once you eat. It also stores well depending on the variety of garlic you grow. Having several pounds of garlic around goes a long way to making your stored food more enjoyable.

If growing garlic to use it for its Allicin always remember that Allicin is produced from crushing fresh garlic bulbs. When fresh garlic is chopped or crushed, the enzyme Alliinase converts Alliin into Allicin, which is responsible for the aroma of fresh garlic. The Allicin generated is very unstable and quickly changes into a series of other sulfur containing compounds such as Diallyl disulfide. So live whole bulbs of garlic are the key to using garlic for medicinal uses or for use in the garden. Remember to crush it shortly before you intend to use it.

Fall will be here soon and with it planting of Garlic for next year. This is a must have for any Midwest garden. I live in the Cincinnati area and about the second week of October is the time I tend to plant my garlic. I plant shallots at the same time. I have to put a fence around my garlic and shallot plot because my poultry will devour my shallots. So each year as I rotate my garlic patch on a four year rotation, I have to move my temporary fence. But it is a small burden for such a useful herb. Also, garlic ranks as one of my top herbs for trade and barter.

Below are links with some general growing information about garlic.

Growing Garlic in the Home Garden, Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1627.html

Growing Garlic, Community Horticulture Fact Sheet #29, Washington State University
http://county.wsu.edu/king/gardening/mg/factsheets/Fact%20Sheets/Growing%20Garlic.pdf

Garlic for the Home Garden, Oregon State University
http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/16950/fs138.pdf

Garlic, An Herb Society of America Guide
http://www.herbsociety.org/factsheets/Garlic%20Guide.pdf

GROWING GARLIC FROM BULBILS
http://www.cog.ca/uploads/TCOG%20Articles/Growing%20garlic%20from%20bulbils.pdf

All About Growing Garlic, Mother Earth News
http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/growing-garlic-zmaz09onzraw.aspx#axzz3Bhjh23KK

Growing Gourmet Garlic, Part 2: Choosing Which Bulbs to Plant, Mother Earth News
http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/growing-garlic-zbcz1310.aspx#ixzz3BiruiW5u

Gourmet Garlic Trimming and Cleaning, Mother Earth News
http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/gourmet-garlic-trimming-and-cleaning-zbcz1408.aspx#axzz3Bhjh23KK

How to Make Garlic Powder, Mother Earth News
http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/make-garlic-powder-zbcz1308.aspx#axzz3Bhjh23KK

Here is a nice link with information on storing garlic.

Safe Methods to Store, Preserve, and Enjoy Garlic, University of California, Davis
http://umaine.edu/publications/1205e/

Nukazuke: Japanese Rice Bran Pickles, great way to pickle garlic
http://pickles.wanderingspoon.com/2009/04/24/nukazuke-japanese-rice-bran-pickles/

Sources of Garlic bulbs for planting.

Beware of trading garlic that may harbor nematodes or fungus. You do not want to bring problems into your garden if you can help it.
It is always safest to grow new sources of garlic in containers so you can destroy plants and soil if nematodes or disease is detected.

Bobba-Mike's Garlic Farm (Orrville, Ohio)
http://www.garlicfarm.com/

Cornerstone Garlic Farm (Reidsville, N.C.): 336-349-5106
http://cornerstonegarlicfarm.com/

Filaree Farm (Okanogan, Wash.)
http://www.filareefarm.com/

Girardin Gourmet Gardens (Randolph, Minn.): 507-263-5897
No website but do have email (girardin@rconnect.com)

Gourmet Garlic Gardens (Bangs, Texas)
http://www.gourmetgarlicgardens.com/

Seed Savers Exchange (Decorah, Iowa)
http://www.seedsavers.org/onlinestore/Garlic/

The Garlic Store (Fort Collins, Colo.)
http://www.thegarlicstore.com/

Territorial Seed Company
http://www.territorialseed.com/category/galic_potatoes

Burpee Seeds
http://www.burpee.com/vegetables/garlic/?cid=PPC&gclid=COWOrK_wtsACFU4F7AodNEkAAg

Hood River Garlic
http://www.hoodrivergarlic.com/