Scientific name: Allium sativum

Family: Liliaceae

Brief history and botanical notes on the plant
There are several garlic cultivars including the most renowned:
o Garlic from Caraglio – (aj 'd Caraj), The garlic from Caraglio, a town in the province of Cuneo, is a garlic with a characteristic delicate aroma. The characteristic is given by the climate and the calcareous, dolomitic and crystalline soils of the Grana Valley mountains. A protection and valorization consortium was created in 2009.
or white Piacentino
or red garlic from Sulmona
or Vessalico Garlic (white), is a Slowfood presidium.
or Serena
o Red garlic from Nubia – The red garlic from Nubia, a hamlet of Paceco (Trapani), is a Slowfood presidium. The bulb typically consists of twelve bulbils or segments, with the external tunics white and the internal tunics bright red. Very intense and fragrant.

Garlic is a perennial herbaceous plant characterized by an underground bulb covered by tunics and divided into cloves (6-15) in the shape of segments. The tall stem has large pointed leaves up to the middle and ends with a floral umbel wrapped in a bract; the flowers are white/greenish and pink-reddish and appear in June.

Pedoclimatic needs
It is easily grown throughout Italy.
It is a plant that needs light, loose soil rich in humus, generally sandy loam, well drained with full sun exposure, being native to Mediterranean and eastern countries.
Garlic resists low temperatures (up to -10°C /-15°C) and begins to develop around 5°C / 6°C.
In the ripening curve, unlike the onion, low temperatures inhibit flowering, while above 20°C there is an increase in the growth of the plant.

Sowing and cultivation care
Weeding is the main operation, as garlic, not being competitive, fears competition from wild herbs; in this regard, normally when choosing the distance between the rows, the size of the weeder that will operate on the row itself is taken into account in order to rationalize the operation in a single pass, also limiting soil compaction.
In clayey soils the bulbil must emerge from the ground (about a third of the segment and with the tip facing upwards),
Normally the distance between the rows is around 30-40 cm, while on the row it is 10cm.
The planting of bulbils in the flowerbeds can take place in autumn for the early pink bulb varieties with a more delicate aroma (mid-October-November), or in winter for the white bulb varieties with a more accentuated aroma than the previous one (January – March).
For a 1m2 flowerbed you need around 100g of bulbils. Avoid the central bulbils of the "head" favoring the more external ones which are larger.

Propagation
During harvesting, keep aside healthy specimens, which do not present malformations, of a certain size.

Fertilizers
It is a low-medium consumer of nitrogen, and medium of phosphorus and potassium.
It does not like direct fertilization with manure (especially fresh).
Sulfur is well tolerated

Irrigations
Only for assistance in the bulb swelling phase, or in case of drought.
Suspend irrigation at least 20-30 days before harvesting.

Adversity
The main adversities are white rot and pink rot, caused by fungi and excess water. There are no remedies, you must avoid replanting garlic in the same flowerbed in the following 4 or 5 years. Fertilization and the use of compost (preferably biodynamic) can help the flowerbed regenerate from the pathogens in question.
In the more humid areas in poorly drained and particularly clayey soil, it is best to sow garlic on small swaths of earth to facilitate aeration and drainage of rainwater, and harvesting operations. As a prevention in case of attacks of downy mildew (Peronospora schleideni: manifested by the presence of whitish or gray-green spots on the leaves), it is necessary to strengthen the defenses of the plants by distributing the decoction of horsetail or wormwood. In case of infection, treat with Bordeaux mixture, taking care to destroy the irreparably affected plants, taking care not to reseed garlic on the same flowerbed in the following three years.
Among the animal parasites we note the onion fly (Delia antiqua), similar to the domestic one, and whose larvae devour the heart of the bulb: as prevention, intercropping with carrots, late sowing, treatment of the bulbils with lithotamnion.

Tips for growing and intercropping
Garlic has a preventive action against fungal diseases and attacks by mice and snails, both as a companion with other plants and as an ingredient in vegetable infusions.
It is useful in the vegetable garden next to strawberries, raspberries, fruit trees, tomatoes, beetroots, carrots and cucumbers, but also in the ornamental garden under roses, tulips and lilies.
On the other hand, they are bad neighbors: peas, cabbage, beans and leeks.

Production, collection and conservation
Harvesting can begin no earlier than the aerial part is dry, around July-August. Once dug up it must be left to "dry" in the sun for at least 2-3 weeks, the humidity must be less than 65% (since humidity favors germination). Then it must be stored in a cool and ventilated environment.

Food and medicinal uses
The slightly spicy flavor and intense aroma make it the protagonist in the most varied dishes from salads, sauces, soups, cooked vegetables, etc.
As Wilhelm Pelikan claims: “ Thanks to its action, the stomach and intestines, with the impulse of the ego and the astral body, break down the food and prepare it perfectly (thanks to the sulphurous processes) to be offered to the etheric body. Foreign astrality is removed, parasites are removed and the intestinal flora is kept in its healthy balance. Food purified in this way will not produce allergic or rheumatic reactions. General resistance is increased but it is important to respect the dosages, because it is a very powerful healing plant.
Furthermore, garlic dissolves and calms intestinal spasms” (page 266-267 Medicinal plants, Natura e Cultura publishing house, Alassio 2005).

Biodynamic treatments
Fertilize lightly with mature compost.
Treatment with preparation 500, before proceeding with implantation.
Use 501 when the plant has already reached a certain height, before the bulbs swell.

Use of the biodynamic calendar
Respect the practice of working, in particular sowing on root days, that is, when the moon is in the constellation of Taurus, or Virgo, or Capricorn (see: The sowing calendar).