It's all relative. What is a lot of potatoes? A years worth of potatoes for a family of 3 might look like a 'lot' of potatoes but as it has to last 52 weeks..
I didn't see 17,000 garlic plants on the show in any case, just an ordinary moderate sized bed with a little less in it than I grow for a family of 3 each year.
I'm garlic intolerant, use about 2 cloves a year, just a little to flavour certain dishes. It's not a very common thing to be. I'm not well if I have it raw and I feel sick when I smell raw garlic on peoples' breath.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
You’re quite right, Gemma, there were not 17000 garlic plants. That was a joke. However I bet there were close on 150 and with maybe 10 cloves per bulb that’s around 4 cloves a day. I hope he grows a commensurate amount of parsley.
Or is there, as you suggest, a lot of waste from imperfect bulbs that do not store? It’s years since I have grown garlic - I just get about one bulb every two months from Tesco.
You’re quite right, Gemma, there were not 17000 garlic plants. That was a joke. However I bet there were close on 150 and with maybe 10 cloves per bulb that’s around 4 cloves a day. I hope he grows a commensurate amount of parsley.
Or is there, as you suggest, a lot of waste from imperfect bulbs that do not store? It’s years since I have grown garlic - I just get about one bulb every two months from Tesco.
Not usually a lot of waste, though there is often the odd malformed one or one that has not cloved up well, which we use first as 'green' garlic (fresh not dried) ahead of the dried stock, which is more pungent and keeps over the whole of the winter into next spring.
A lot of garlic growers will be keeping a good proportion of the bulbs for planting out in Autumn for the following year too. It is one of those plants that is supposed to adapt over time to the location if one keeps it going.
We can easily get through five cloves a day, that's how many I use for my stuffed Marrow last Friday.
We have some regular recipes that demand 5 bulbs worth of cloves as it is used as an alternative to onions in many Italian and Indian dishes we cook.
I guess if someone cooks with it a lot, there never seems to be enough of it. I certainly didn't think it was an excessive crop for someone who not only grows their own but intends to only eat home grown garlic and hold some back for growing for next year.
One of the joys of lockdown has been the not having to worry about who we'd be seeing the next day and thus limiting garlic consumption. I've been experimenting with all sorts of new recipes as well as my usual range of Indian, Thai, Chinese, Moroccan, vegetarian adding new Indian, Vietnamese, Mexican, Spanish and even a few French recipes to my repertoire. Garlic central!
Easy to find different kinds of garlic on ale here and I grow my won too. Now I just need to find some of the different fresh chillies needed - like it spicy but not volcanic.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
By "natural", l meant someone who was ease in front of the camera, and managed to convey the challenges she faced with a "matter of fact" attitude, for want of a better description. Some people come across more relaxed than others as can be seen by the various videos GW has shown over the past weeks. I admire anyone who can do that. I was once interviewed in my garden for local radio and that was nerve wracking enough, so anyone who can do it with a camera pointing at them (whether held by a loved one or a professional) has my admiration
Must admit l enjoyed this week's episode. The lady who was planting things with her feet (Sue ?) was really a natural...[
If by "a natural" you mean overly enthusiastic like Nick Bailey and Carol, then I agree with you.
Now Monty, he's a natural. Never once has he come across as overly enthusiastic. It's a more genuine presenting style. I'll be sad to see him go and hope they choose someone less "fake" to replace him.
@Treeface .... Monty’s not leaving is he? Have I missed something? 😱
Just a reminder for those who watch "live" that GW is on early tonight at 7.30 pm.
At Longmeadow Monty shows how to prune Spring flowering roses and makes successional sowings of vegetables to ensure continuous crops. Adam Frost gives tips on helping plants cope with drought conditions and how to save precious water. The team meet two sisters from Dorset who have discovered a new love of gardening and have been supported in their efforts by many followers on social media. Last year Frances Tophill went to Hertfordshire to meet a couple of brothers whose gardens are designed with wildlife in mind, and in Bognor Regis the team visit a gardener who has used unusual materials and bargain plants to create her own dream garden.
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I didn't see 17,000 garlic plants on the show in any case, just an ordinary moderate sized bed with a little less in it than I grow for a family of 3 each year.
Or is there, as you suggest, a lot of waste from imperfect bulbs that do not store? It’s years since I have grown garlic - I just get about one bulb every two months from Tesco.
A lot of garlic growers will be keeping a good proportion of the bulbs for planting out in Autumn for the following year too. It is one of those plants that is supposed to adapt over time to the location if one keeps it going.
We can easily get through five cloves a day, that's how many I use for my stuffed Marrow last Friday.
We have some regular recipes that demand 5 bulbs worth of cloves as it is used as an alternative to onions in many Italian and Indian dishes we cook.
I guess if someone cooks with it a lot, there never seems to be enough of it. I certainly didn't think it was an excessive crop for someone who not only grows their own but intends to only eat home grown garlic and hold some back for growing for next year.
Easy to find different kinds of garlic on ale here and I grow my won too. Now I just need to find some of the different fresh chillies needed - like it spicy but not volcanic.
Some people come across more relaxed than others as can be seen by the various videos GW has shown over the past weeks.
I admire anyone who can do that. I was once interviewed in my garden for local radio and that was nerve wracking enough, so anyone who can do it with a camera pointing at them (whether held by a loved one or a professional) has my admiration
At Longmeadow Monty shows how to prune Spring flowering roses and makes successional sowings of vegetables to ensure continuous crops.
Adam Frost gives tips on helping plants cope with drought conditions and how to save precious water.
The team meet two sisters from Dorset who have discovered a new love of gardening and have been supported in their efforts by many followers on social media.
Last year Frances Tophill went to Hertfordshire to meet a couple of brothers whose gardens are designed with wildlife in mind, and in Bognor Regis the team visit a gardener who has used unusual materials and bargain plants to create her own dream garden.