Elephant Garlic

Credit: Barbra Fairclough

When is garlic not garlic? Elephant garlic (Allium ampeloprasum) is a cool-season biennial that is happy in a variety of soils and conditions. And it is not garlic at all; it is actually a leek – which explains why elephant garlic is so mild. Give it a full-sun location with a generous helping of friable, compost-rich soil and it will produce a bounty of sweet, large bulbs. Each contains four to six large cloves. Alliums are frost tolerant and elephant garlic can be left in the ground for harvesting long into winter.