Garlic 'Morado' (Autumn Planting)

Why Plant Garlic in Autumn?

Autumn is an ideal time to plant hardneck garlic, making good use of ground cleared after summer crops. Planting now gives the cloves time to establish roots before winter, while the colder months provide the period of low temperatures needed for good bulb development. When growth picks up again in spring, the plants are already established and can be ready to harvest from early summer.

What You'll Need

A garden fork or trowel • Well-rotted garden compost • Concentrated Slow-Release Onion, Garlic & Shallot Feed Granules • Horticultural fleece if birds are a problem • Horticultural grit if you have heavy soil

Prepare Your Soil

Choose an open, sunny position with fertile, free-draining soil. Garlic dislikes sitting in wet ground, particularly through winter. If your soil is heavy, work in plenty of organic matter and horticultural grit to improve the structure and drainage. Avoid planting in freshly manured ground.

Planting Your Garlic

Keep the bulbs whole until you're ready to plant, then separate them carefully into individual cloves, leaving the papery skins intact. Plant each clove with the flat base down and pointed end upwards, spacing them around 15cm apart. The tip should sit approximately 2–2.5cm below the soil surface, with around 30cm between rows.

Protecting Young Shoots

Birds can sometimes pull up newly planted cloves or emerging shoots before they've rooted securely. If this becomes a problem, cover the crop with horticultural fleece or suitable netting until the plants are well established.

Watering & Feeding

Keep your garlic adequately watered during prolonged dry spells, particularly while the bulbs are actively developing and swelling. Once the bulbs are fully developed and the foliage begins to yellow, stop watering and allow the crop to mature ready for lifting.

Keep It Weed Free

Garlic has relatively shallow roots and doesn't compete well with weeds. Weed regularly by hand or hoe carefully between the plants, taking care not to damage the developing bulbs.

Growing in Containers

‘Morado’ can also be grown in a large container with good drainage. Choose a pot at least 30cm deep, give the cloves around 15cm between plants and check the compost regularly during dry weather, as containers will need watering more often than open ground.

Good Companions
Garlic takes up relatively little room above ground, so it fits easily into a productive vegetable plot alongside crops such as carrots, beetroot and leafy salads. Just make sure neighbouring crops don't crowd it as the bulbs develop.

Making the Most of Your Bed
Quick-growing radishes and salad leaves can be grown nearby and harvested while your garlic is still developing. Leave enough space around the garlic for plenty of light and good airflow.

Crop Rotation
Garlic belongs to the onion family, so avoid planting it where onions, shallots, garlic or leeks have recently been grown. These crops can be affected by some of the same soil-borne pests and diseases.

Planning Ahead
Where practical, leave three to four years before growing onion-family crops in the same ground again. Once your garlic has been harvested in summer, the space can be used for later-sown salads and other quick-growing vegetables.

When to Harvest
Autumn-planted ‘Morado’ will generally be ready to harvest in summer. Watch the plant rather than relying on the calendar alone – once the lower leaves begin to yellow and die back, the bulbs are approaching maturity.

Don't Leave It Too Long
Keep an eye on your crop as it approaches maturity. Leaving ripe garlic in the ground for too long can cause the bulbs to start opening and the cloves to separate, which can reduce their keeping quality.

How to Harvest
Choose a dry day and carefully loosen the soil beneath each bulb with a garden fork before lifting it. Avoid pulling hard on the stems or bruising the bulbs, particularly if you intend to store them.

Drying Your Garlic
After lifting, allow the bulbs to dry thoroughly somewhere warm, dry and well ventilated. Once properly cured, brush away loose soil and trim the dried roots ready for storage.

Storing Your Harvest
Hardneck garlic generally doesn't keep for as long as softneck varieties, so enjoy ‘Morado’ over the following months. Keep thoroughly dried bulbs somewhere cool, dry and well ventilated and check them occasionally while they're stored.

Make the Most of Its Rich Flavour

‘Morado’ has a rich, spicy flavour with plenty of character. It's particularly good in dishes with other robust flavours, from tomato-based sauces and curries to marinades, stews and slow-cooked dishes.

Roast the Cloves Whole

Its substantial cloves are ideal for roasting whole. As they cook, the stronger raw garlic flavour softens and becomes sweeter and more mellow, ready to squeeze into sauces, mash or onto toasted bread.

Use the Scapes Too

Harvest the young scapes before the bulbs are ready and use them as a fresh seasonal ingredient. Slice them into stir-fries, grill them whole or blitz them with herbs, nuts and oil to make a garlic scape pesto.

Top Tip

Pair ‘Morado’ with strongly flavoured ingredients such as tomatoes, peppers and herbs – its rich, spicy character is less likely to get lost among the other flavours in the dish.

Understanding Your Garlic Bulbs

Garlic is supplied as a whole bulb made up of individual cloves. Before planting, carefully split the bulb apart and plant each clove separately. Each healthy clove has the potential to grow into a complete new bulb, so one garlic bulb can give you several plants and a much bigger harvest.

Bulb Size & Clove Numbers

Garlic is a natural product, so bulb size and the number and size of cloves will vary. A bulb with fewer cloves isn't necessarily smaller or poorer quality – it may simply contain fewer, larger cloves. The approximate clove count shown on the product page is a useful guide rather than an exact number for every bulb.

Hardneck Garlic

Hardneck varieties tend to produce fewer, larger cloves around a firm central stem and are particularly well suited to cooler growing conditions. They generally have a bolder, more complex flavour than softneck types and produce an edible flowering stem called a scape, which can be harvested while young. Hardneck garlic typically stores for around four to six months after harvest.

Softneck Garlic

Softneck varieties generally produce more cloves of varying sizes and don't have the rigid central stem found in hardnecks. Their softer, flexible foliage means the cured bulbs can be plaited, and they generally have a longer storage life than hardneck types.

When Your Garlic Arrives

Keep the bulbs whole until you're ready to plant, then carefully separate them into individual cloves, leaving their papery skins intact. If you can't plant straight away, keep the bulbs somewhere cool, dry and well ventilated until you're ready to get them into the ground.