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Legend
- Start Indoors
- Transplant
- Start Outdoors
- Care
- Harvest
- Succession Plant
- Cold, Cool, Warm, Long days
- Annual
Garlic : Ransoms Wild Garlic

Ramsons, Allium ursinum (also known as buckrams, wild garlic, wood garlic or bear's garlic) is a wild relative of chives in the Alliaceae (onion/garlic) family. They tend to grow mainly in swampy deciduous woodlands, being most common in areas with slightly acidic soils. They flower before the trees get their leaves and fill the air with their characteristic strong garlicky scent. Ramsons grow in marshy ground usually within woodlands. They're very common across Britain and if you come across a drift of them you will be aware of their presence long before you see them as they emit a strong garlic-like smell (hence the source of one common name: wild garlic). Ransom season is very short, however, and soon after it flowers the plant seeds itself and dies back. The entire plant is edible and the bulb can be used as a garlic substitute (if you can get seed and you have a shady spot in your garden this is an excellent plant to grow). However, the plan't true glory is it's leaves which can be used raw in a salad. They are also excellent when finely shredded and mixed into an omelette. They can also be boiled and made into a kind of pesto-like pâté.
Amaryllidaceae Allium sativum
This is an example of the timeline you would see based on your growing conditions.
Garlic: Softneck
Ransoms Wild Garlic
This is the garlic you’ll find in most grocery stores. These varieties often do well when planted in spring. The bulb has a mild flavor. A great virtue of the softneck garlic (Allium sativum ssp. sativum) is that it stores very well. Since the necks are (literally) soft, you can cut them nice and long for braiding. A braid of garlic makes a winning kitchen gift for friends and family!
Basics
- Ease of Growing
- Easy
- Grown as
- Annual
- Days to Maturity
- 90-130 (Spring/Summer), 225-240 (Fall/Winter)
- Growing Habit
- -
- Hardiness
- Hardy
Garlic is very hardy and if the soil doesn't freeze the roots will continue to grow right through the winter. The tops will grow whenever the temperature is above 40 degrees F. Garlic can sometimes be frost tolerant.
- Crops
- Spring, Fall
- Growing Season
- Short, Long
- Cultivar Type
- -
- Growing Conditions
- Cold, Cool, Warm, Long days
Garlic is a fairly easy crop to grow. Given lots of sun, good soil, plenty of water, and a steady supply of nutrients, and it will produce maximum leaf growth, which in turn produces large bulbs. Garlic is quite hearty and can grow during the winter in more moderate climates. In colder areas, it can be planted in the spring.
- Outdoor Growing Temp
- 45°F - 85°F
- Min Outdoor Soil Temp
- 45°F
Garlic is a very hardy plant and can go into the ground 4 to 6 weeks before the last frost date.
- Start Indoors
- No
- Start Outdoors
- Yes
- Light
- Water
- Low
This is another critical factor in growing good garlic. The plants need a steady and constant supply of moisture when putting on leaf growth and bulbing up.
- Feeder
- Moderate
Moderate nitrogen. Moderate phosphorous. Moderate potassium. Garlic isn't a very hungry plant, but it needs a steady supply of nutrients for best growth.
- Suitability
- Tolerates light frost
- Small Gardens?
- Yes
- Containers?
- Yes
You could try growing garlic in a container (make sure the pot is at least 12" deep and 6" in diameter), but it isn't considered an ideal candidate for this. Plant one clove per pot no more than 1 1/2 inches below the surface of your potting soil. Water well and place in the sunshine.
- Attracts beneficial insects?
- No
- Color
- Papery white
- Fruit Size
- 1.5 - 3.0"
- Plant Height
- 12.0 - 24.0"
- Plant Diameter
- 2.0 - 3.0"
- Hardiness Zone
- 5-10
- Disease Resistance
- -
- Taste Profile
Hot and spicy flavor
- Rotation Group
- Roots: Alliums + Umbeliferae
Last Frost Date (LFD) refers to the approximate date of the last killing frost of spring.
Example first frost date on April 08.
First Frost Date (FFD) refers to the approximate date of the first killing frost of winter.
Example first frost date on November 01.
Current week.