If health is your goal, start with garlic in your soul! Not only does growing your own garlic add delicious flavour to your meals, it’s also a powerful superfood that boosts your immune system, regulates blood pressure, and helps fight infections.
Before you start growing your own garlic patch, just remember that garlic can interact with certain medications, so be mindful of its effects on your health journey.
Garlic is grown throughout South Africa, however, the highest-quality garlic is best produced in cool and dry areas, notes Nangamso Mtamzeli-Cekiso, a horticultural scientist at the Dohne Agricultural Development Institute in Stutterheim in the Eastern Cape.
Garlic cultivation
These ideal regions include North West, Gauteng, certain parts of the Eastern Cape, the Polokwane region in Limpopo, parts of the Free State, and the Karoo region of the Western Cape.
Mtamzeli-Cekiso explains that garlic is thermo-photoperiod sensitive, meaning that temperature and day length affect its growth and development.
“Incorporating compost into the soil improves soil structure and provides a healthy environment for the plants to grow well.”
Ngangamso Mtamzeli-Cekiso
She further notes that garlic can be grown in a wide range of soils, but well-drained sandy loamy soils rich in organic matter with pH levels between 6 and 7 are ideal. A soil test is crucial before applying fertiliser to ensure correct application. Waterlogged soils are not suitable for garlic, so it should be planted in well-drained soil.
“Garlic has a short adventitious root system; therefore, moisture stress will hinder its development.”
Planting dates vary across the country due to different climatic conditions, but in Mzansi, garlic is typically planted between late February and May.
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Pest and diseases
Mtamzeli-Cekiso says although garlic can be planted as a companion plant to repel certain pests due to its insecticidal properties, it is susceptible to pests such as pink stalk borer, nematodes, and cutworms.
She also highlights leaf blight, white bulb rot, and downy mildew as common diseases affecting garlic.
“To manage pest and disease infestation, practise crop rotation with plants from a different family than Alliacea,” she advises.
She adds that garlic’s short adventitious root system means moisture stress can reduce yield. Cool temperatures and short days are necessary for bulb formation, as reduced photosynthesis helps the plant focus on bulb development.
If you want to plant garlic at home, Mtamzeli-Cekiso explains that you have to remove the outer layer of the garlic bulb and separate the cloves from the bulb into individual cloves. The cloves are then planted with the pointed side facing upwards.
Get all the goodness of garlic
Nthabeleng Pebana, a crop science specialist based in Cape Town, explains that garlic contains several bioactive compounds that contribute to its health benefits. These compounds have various metabolic effects on the body.
“The primary compounds include allicin, Diallyl Disulfide (DADS), S-allyl Cysteine (SAC), Diallyl Trisulfide (DATS), ajoene, vitamins, and minerals.”
Pebana notes that garlic compounds promote apoptosis, reduce cell proliferation, and enhance detoxification processes.
Interactions between garlic and medications
Pebana says garlic can interact with certain medications and supplements, potentially reducing its health benefits and causing negative side effects.
“It contains natural antiplatelet and anticoagulant properties that might exacerbate the effects of antiplatelet and anticoagulant medications, increasing the risk of bleeding and bruising.”
She adds, “Garlic supplements can reduce the effectiveness of some HIV medications by decreasing their plasma concentrations.”
Therefore, she advises that it is best to avoid garlic supplements when taking protease inhibitors unless directed otherwise by a healthcare provider.
Pebana notes, “Some studies have suggested that birth control pills containing oestrogen interact with garlic.”
Garlic can increase the metabolism of oestrogen, potentially reducing the effectiveness of oral contraceptives.
Additionally, she adds that the hypoglycemic effects of antidiabetic medications can be enhanced by garlic, which may lead to hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).
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