Q.Elephant Garlic
How do you grow and harvest elephant garlic?
Certified GKH Gardening Expert
While it is closer to a leek than a garlic, you plant and grow elephant garlic like regular garlic. Because of its size, spacing is different. Put the cloves 8-10 inches apart in rows 18-20 inches from each other. Set them 1-2 inches deep. Sometimes elephant garlic tends to produce only one large, solid bulb with no segments. If this occurs, replant and it will produce a bulb the next harvest with the more typical cloves. Planting usually takes place in fall, about 4-6 weeks before the first hard freeze in order to establish roots but it can also be spring planted. Harvest the garlic by pulling or digging when the tops turn brown and die down in summer. Store in a cool, dry place to prevent sprouting.
