Under a blanket of fair-weather cumulus, the team managed to plant various varieties of garlic before the rain took hold. The short video shows our farm van trundling across the field delivering seed garlic to the planter. Looking at the field now, even the four-wheel-drive would struggle to make the same journey without making a mess and it would certainly be no place for a light aircraft!

The Garlic Farmer explains:

"This year we've planted on the old grass aerodrome, Apse Airport, near Sandown. Beautiful, free draining greenland, as perfect for garlic as it was for aircraft in the 1930s. The old air hanger is still there at the southern end of the rows of garlic. One could fly to Southampton to watch the football on a Saturday for five shillings (25p today) or to London for 19 shillings and 6 pence (97p). The German Ambassador to Britain, Von Ribbentrop and his friends, flew in here from Baden-Baden to spend the weekend at The Royal Hotel at Ventnor"

Garlic Planting

First in the ground was our Elephant Garlic. We bring new seed-stock in from our partner farm in California. These will be ready in the first two weeks in June next year at the same time as Extra Early Wight and a short while later, our fresh-tasting Rhapsody Wight®, from the Artichoke horticultural group.

Lubasha Wight®, our trade marked signature hardneck from the Ukraine, is also in the ground planted from "rounds", solo bulbs grown on from the bulbils produced in the seed-heads or scapes the year before. Lubasha has five or six very fat chunky cloves, powerful and a delight to cook with.

Colin, The Garlic Farmer adds:

"Walk into a restaurant in the Ukraine and the pre meal taster will be peeled Lubasha cloves wrapped in 'salo', Ukraine's famous salted pork fat, washed down with a glass of vodka. A Ukrainian nurse at the Isle of Wight hospital roared with laughter when I told her we grew Lubasha and knew how to use 'salo'.

'Ukrainian men no make love until they have downed at least three garlic wrapped in salo with vodka chasers.' Which is the potent part of this mix? We naturally say garlic but perhaps it's the all-in combination that aids performance?!"

Tips and information on how to grow garlic can be found on the link here.

Our full range of garlic for growing can be found here. We can happily ship garlic seed stock to anywhere in the UK (except Northern Ireland), from our farm here on the Isle of Wight. Please call us if you would like deliveries overseas.