I love garlic, and would like to grow my own. Will it thrive if planted outside in the UK, and how do I look after it? Is there a way to tell when it is ready to be harvested?

Thanks for your help.

Our climate is very similar to yours and I plant garlic outdoors, successfully.

I plant cloves every year. When the tops become brownish - it's ready to harvest.

Fresh garlic will keep for about a year in your kitchen! That just goes to show you how long it's been in storage when you buy it at the market!

Plant twice what you want to harvest....the fresh greens are a wonderful treat, use them anywhere you'd use chives or green onions, and they dry well, snipped into small pieces and dried in a dark, well vented place then stored in an airtight container, they add so much to soups and cassaroles in the winter when fresh greens are scarce.

Hi MrsS! I never thought of doing that! Thanks for your suggestion. Afterall, I do have a dehydrator that needs more work.