Wild garlic (Allium ursinum) is found in many Central European deciduous forests, but it cannot be harvested everywhere. Nature conservation regulations and the fox tapeworm can make growing in your own garden an interesting alternative to harvesting in the forest.
How do you sow wild garlic in your own garden?
To sow wild garlic successfully, use fresh seeds and choose a shady location under deciduous trees. Sow the seeds in summer, autumn or until mid-February and always keep the soil moist.
Only use fresh seeds
The wild garlic seeds only remain germinable for a maximum of six months even under optimal storage conditions, so you should only use seeds that are as fresh as possible for sowing. When sowing, you should also note that wild garlic can sometimes take a long time to germinate. Since it is a cold germinator, the seeds should be incorporated into the soil either in summer or autumn, but at the latest by mid-February. Since plants sometimes only develop in the second year, patience is required when caring for them. It doesn't make much sense to grow wild garlic in bowls, as this usually cannot guarantee consistent soil moisture over a long period of time. This should also be taken into account when sowing outdoors and a weed-free place in the shade should be selected.
Choose the right location
It is almost impossible to successfully plant wild garlic in sunny, dry and very sandy locations. If, on the other hand, the site conditions suit the needs of this forest plant, wild garlic will spread into dense stands within a few years. A place under deciduous trees and bushes is ideal, as there is constant soil moisture and shade. In addition, almost no other plants grow under these conditions, so competition for nutrients and light is negligible. Since it is possible to control the population in your own garden, if the wild garlic reserves are kept clean, there is less risk of confusion with poisonous counterparts such as the following:
- Lily of the valley
- Poisonous Rod of Aaron
- Autumn Crocus
Enabling self-sowing
To sow wild garlic, you can also collect the wilted inflorescences of wild wild garlic and rake them into the ground at the planned location in your own garden. In the first two years of growth, you should only harvest a few leaves from the first wild garlic plants so that they can continue to multiply via underground bulbs and self-sowing without human intervention.
Tips & Tricks
Sowing wild garlic sometimes requires a lot of patience. It's quicker to plant a larger stock of wild garlic in the garden with wild garlic bulbs or with pre-grown plants from garden shops.