Field notes

Everything I know about growing, curing and eating outrageously large garlic — written from the field, not a content calendar.

Recipes

Field notes

Hand-drawn illustration of an elephant garlic bulb with small corms scattered around it, one sprouting

Elephant garlic corms, rounds & other surprises

Dug up something weird? Corms, rounds, single bulbs, yellow leaves and rust explained — what each one means, what to do next, and what's still edible.

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Hand-drawn illustration of an elephant garlic bulb and cloves on a chopping board with a chef's knife

How to cook elephant garlic: uses & recipes

What to do with elephant garlic: roast it whole, confit it, mash it into butter, shave it raw. Recipes, a substitution calculator, and the blue-garlic mystery.

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Hand-drawn illustration of elephant garlic scapes at three stages, from straight to curled to flowering

Elephant garlic flowers, scapes & bolting

Elephant garlic throws a flower stalk in late spring — the scape. When to cut it, why it matters for bulb size, and three ways to cook it.

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Hand-drawn illustration of a giant elephant garlic bulb facing off against a small regular garlic bulb

Elephant garlic vs garlic: the actual difference

Elephant garlic isn't garlic at all — it's a giant, mild leek relative. Size, taste, botany and price compared, plus when to use which one.

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Hand-drawn illustration of a freshly lifted elephant garlic bulb with roots and falling soil, garden fork behind

When to pick elephant garlic: harvest, curing & storage

Pick elephant garlic in July, when the lower leaves yellow and the plant leans. The signs, the lifting technique, curing times and how long it keeps.

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Hand-drawn illustration of a giant elephant garlic bulb beside a hen's egg, with a question mark

What is elephant garlic? The complete guide

Elephant garlic explained: a giant, mild allium that's closer to a leek than true garlic. Size, taste, history, nutrition — and what to do with one.

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Hand-drawn illustration of an elephant garlic clove dropping into a planting hole beside a trowel

When to plant elephant garlic in the UK

Plant elephant garlic in October or November — early enough to root, cold enough to split into cloves. The window, the why, and the spring-planting trap.

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Hand-drawn illustration of an elephant garlic bulb nestled in an open delivery box with a postage stamp

Where to buy elephant garlic in the UK

Can you buy elephant garlic in Tesco? Almost never. Where it's actually sold in the UK — supermarkets, marketplaces and specialist growers — with honest prices.

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Hand-drawn illustration of elephant garlic growth stages, from planted clove to tall plant with a swelling bulb

How to grow elephant garlic in the UK

When to plant elephant garlic, how deep, how far apart — the whole method for an open Lincolnshire field, and the one mistake that ruins the most bulbs.

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