Garlic

This year was the first year I haven't been organised with garlic.

I planted it later than usual (late October) although with the late season warmth we had in September, it was probably not that bad to hold off planting until it was wetter and colder. It's good to see the first tips popping through the manure mulch of the bed. 

I bought the bulbs from the allotment shop (something I never do as they only stock one cultivar, this year Thermidrome). It's a softneck garlic, so I might plant hardneck garlic in the spring to have both.

Hardnecks do better in cold weather and have a stronger taste but softnecks keep longer (which is why you won't find hardneck garlic in the shops). All garlics need wet weather to bulk up, and exposure to cold weather for the bulbs to separate so it's best to plant them in the autumn or early spring.

Other than that, garlic is a relatively easy crop that pretty much looks after itself once it's in the ground. As a member of the allium family, it's susceptible to rust in dry summers but you can just pick it early and burn the foliage if it happens.