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Planting Time Again!
Gardeners in Scotland and Canada are successfully growing the garlic varieties Music, German Red and Leningrad whilst in Germany the variety Weingarten (a softneck) has been a popular choice. Whilst German Red and Music grow well in Scotland and other parts of the UK, the organic growers of the north-eastern USA grow a wide range of Rocambole garlic - Yerina, Marino and Roja being typical examples. The choice of hardneck varieties also brings some changes in the growing calendar - planting should be done in the autumn as a matter of course and you should expect the harvested bulbs to have a shorter shelf-life - typically storing to the end of December rather than March as might be expected from a softneck variety. For a list of UK seedstock suppliers (including Roja and the newly introduced Oswego White) have a look at our seedstock availability page. For advice on cultivation and how to look after your garlic crop then go here. And if you're confused about varieties then have a look at our varity guides - hardnecks and softnecks. For those of you who would like a more in depth look at garlic cultivation then take a look at our grower guide or visit the new, free ONLINE GARLIC LIBRARY.

Dr. Sakai Odour-Free Garlic has the appearance of an ordinary garlic bulb and, as the deodorising process is claimed to act upon a biological pathway unrelated to the production of the primary garlic flavour, the flavour of Dr Sakai garlic is also said to be unaffected. The development of the malodour associated with 'garlic breath' is however claimed to be arrested. USA version	Read our full report here
Greening of Garlic Puree can be a severe problem for processors and food manufacturers. This paper examines how bulb storage conditions influence puree colour. The paper was written by Lukes and first published in The Journal of Food Science. It is reproduced here by courtesy of the Institute of Food Technologists

A Dozen Cloves of Garlic a Day Keeps the Doctor Away?
The classic fairy tale Goldilocks and the Three Bears showcases a bedrock principle of pharmacology. The beneficial effect of drugs often is dose-dependent. One dose is not enough. Another is too much. Yet another dose is just right. Shela Gorinstein and colleagues in Israel and Poland have discovered that the Goldilocks rule prevails for garlic. Past scientific studies suggest that garlic is good for the heart. Garlic lowers total cholesterol levels, for instance, and levels of LDL ("bad") cholesterol. It also makes the blood less likely to clot. In experiments with laboratory rats, Gorinstein and colleagues have shown that garlic's effects on total cholesterol are dose-dependent. Lab rats on a high-cholesterol diet got varying amounts of raw garlic each day -- ranging from 500 milligrams (mg) to 1,000 mg per kilogram of body weight. Their report is scheduled for publication in the June 14 issue of the Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry.
Only the 500 mg dosage lowered cholesterol and had a beneficial effect on blood clotting. Although the results cannot automatically be applied to humans, the dose was equivalent to about 1.25 ounces of raw garlic per day for a 150-pound person. That amounts to a mega dose of fresh garlic -- about a dozen cloves a day. Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry

Tunceli Garlic Project Gathers Pace
Allium tuncelianum - the wild ancestor of modern garlic is being cultivated in Turkey. The project was originally sponsored in 2002 by the United Nations Development Programme who awarded a small grant to enable local farmers to assess the feasibility. The first phase of the project, lasting fifteen months, ended in November 2004 and from that a five year production plan was developed and initiated in February 2005. The plan involved using ten ‘pioneer’ farmers who will progressively expand the productive area and who, by 2009 will have a significant crop for sale on the open market. Click here for details

Study shows garlic fails to lower 'bad' cholesterol levels
When it comes to lowering cholesterol levels, garlic stinks, according to a new study from the School of Medicine. Despite decades of conflicting studies about the pungent herb's ability to improve heart health, the researchers say their study provides the most rigorous evidence to date that consuming garlic on a daily basis—in the form of either raw garlic or two of the most popular garlic supplements—does not lower LDL cholesterol levels among adults with moderately high cholesterol levels.
Article by Susan Ipaktchian - Stanford School of Medicine. Published in The Archives of Internal Medicine

Research Finds Garlic Kills Slugs
Scientists from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne have found that garlic could win the costly worldwide war against slugs and snails as an environmentally friendly pesticide. Slugs and snails cause millions of pounds worth of damage as they munch their way through food crops and plants, particularly those in cool, temperate climates like those of the UK, Northern Europe and North West America.
Even more millions of pounds are spent trying to control them - the estimated overall cost to the UK is around £30m. Growers are increasingly seeking alternative solutions to traditional pesticides, however, as ever-tightening regulations governing the use of chemicals may mean that some products could be withdrawn.
Garlic is already being used in some products as a mollusc repellent but this research takes it a step further. Earlier work by Newcastle University also found that garlic kills slug eggs laid in the soil. The Newcastle University scientists looked at how applying a liquid containing garlic extract to soil affected slugs and snails’ movement through it. They also measured damage to a Chinese cabbage leaf. Garlic largely prevented the leaf from being eaten and killed a very high percentage of the creatures.
Lead researcher Dr Port said that the findings would be welcomed by organic gardeners looking for alternatives to pesticides. He said: “The research suggests that a home-made recipe of crushed garlic bulbs mixed with water could work on small-scale gardens.”