Increased interest in self-cultivation of garlic

Of: TT

Published: October 03, 2020 at 5:01 p.m.

Garlic: indispensable in many dishes with its characteristic flavor.

Interest in growing your own garlic is increasing among individuals and professional growers. If you live in the north of Sweden, it is time to start.

Garlic is so much more than the tiny dried onion found in the grocery department of the store. At least if you ask one of the country’s leading garlic experts, Åke Truedsson, former president of the Swedish Gardening Association. Today he runs his own garlic club with about a thousand members.

One hundred varieties

Interest in the tasty onion is growing in Sweden, he says.

– Among individuals, it is very large, and I also notice a demand among smaller professional growers, says Åke Truedsson, adding that he currently has hundreds of varieties of garlic collected from a self-established gene bank on the farm in Vellinge, Skåne.

So what is the difference between different garlic?

– What you buy in the trade is often sprayed with toxic residue that remains. In addition, the bulbs are often irradiated to keep for a long time in the trade. They are the walking dead.

Many different shades

Homegrown onion, on the other hand, has a flavor that offers variety for a long time, according to Åke Truedsson.

– You can experience the different harvest times of garlic.

Already in spring, garlic can be harvested to be enjoyed raw with its mild flavor. During the summer it is consumed fresh. The onion is then dried and stored dry and frost-free.

Time to start in the north

Anyone interested in growing their own onions should invest in getting real seeds, advises Åke Truedsson.

– And then you put it at intervals of 15-20 centimeters in holes eight centimeters deep. The soil must be whitewashed and preferably wood ash, you want it to be very alkaline.

In the northern parts of the country, it is time to start. In the extreme south, you have to wait until the end of November, when the soil has cooled down a bit.

It is important to consider fertilizing and watering properly on the brink of spring, when the onion will begin to grow.

TT: If you don’t have your own plot, is it also possible to grow on a balcony?

– Theoretically. But you need a solid box and preferably a soil mixed with clay from a field. No peat soil, no commercial soil!

Published: October 03, 2020 at 5:01 p.m.