By Pat Hitchcock, U. C. Master Gardener

Garlic

Perhaps you are more interested in the "stinking rose," more commonly known as garlic. Late October through early December is prime planting time for garlic in our Northern California gardens. Garlic planted now will grow almost unattended through the winter and reward you with beautiful heads late next spring or early summer.

All garlic is the same species, Allium sativum, but there are two main types. Hardneck varieties develop a strong central stem, or scape, with tiny bulbils encased in a papery husk at the top. Home gardeners should remove the scape when it appears. It's a tasty treat that can be diced or stir fried, added to salads, grilled whole or used as garnish.

Softneck garlic varieties either don't form the scape or have a very weak one. These are the types that make great braids and are also the kind you are most likely to find for sale in your supermarket. Varieties vary in sweetness and heat, though all are milder once cooked.

Giant or elephant garlic is not a garlic but a near relative. It needs the same care you give to garlic, but the flavor is much less intense and may not satisfy the true garlic lover's palate

Your choices of varieties will be limited by what's available from local nurseries, seed catalogues, farmer's markets and friends. (Garlic from the supermarket may not be well adapted for our home gardens.) Seed garlic is simply garlic you haven't eaten. Separate the head into cloves and plant with the pointed side up in soil that has been enriched with compost. If you like to plant in a bed, the cloves can be planted in a grid eight inches apart in all directions. You can also plant the cloves in rows.

Until the rains begin, water regularly. The plants will be small at first and the roots shallow so deep watering is not necessary in the beginning. Your most important task once the rains take over the irrigation is to keep weeds under control. Be diligent so that the garlic does not have to compete for space. If we experience a dry period, be prepared to add supplemental water. You will also need to irrigate when the dry weather returns in the spring. The garlic needs to grow until May or June, and will need deeper irrigation then.

All parts of the garlic plant are edible. If you are an impatient gardener, you can enjoy green garlic as soon as the plants begin to grow. At my house, we discovered this delicacy by accident when I sent a family member out to the garden to cut some green onions for salad. He cut some garlic sprouts instead, not knowing the difference, and the green garlic was delicious as a scallion substitute. Now, when I grow garlic, I have to set aside part of the plot for greens, as I don't expect good bulb formation from plants that have been trimmed of their leaves.

Mature garlic is ready to harvest when the heads are fully formed and approximately 40 percent of the leaves have died back. If you're not sure, dig up one bulb and look at it. A fully grown bulb will have clearly differentiated cloves.

If the bulbs are starting to split out of the head, the garlic is overly mature. It will still be good to eat but will not keep in storage for long. Note that different varieties ripen at different times. Use a garden fork to loosen the soil around the bulbs so you don't tear or break the stems.

Garlic requires a curing, or drying, period. You can tie bunches together and hang them in a well-ventilated area, out of direct sunlight, or lay them on screens. In two to three weeks, they are ready to be stored. Properly cured and stored hardneck varieties will last for three to six months, while softneck varieties will last up to nine months.

I have found garlic to be trouble free in my Napa garden, with one exception. Surprisingly, gophers like the bulbs, and one year my entire plot was decimated by the critters shortly before I could bring in the harvest. If gophers are a problem in your garden patch, and your efforts to control them have been ineffective, plant in a bed that has been lined with wire.

With a little effort now and a little help from nature, you can be enjoying the fresh taste of garlic during the winter as well as next spring. To a gardener-cook, garlic truly is a rose by another name.