By michael - June, 3rd 2014

Allium sativum also called Garlic has been used for the longest time ever recorded, history has described its traits both as medicinal and culinary purposes. It is one of the important ingredients in almost all types of dishes in the ancient times. Today garlic is known to be a food supplement. It can boost your immune system as it is packed with antioxidant substances. Allicin is a sulfur component of garlic, it is the chemical produced when garlic is sliced, pounded, or chewed. This is an antibiotic like elements that prevents germs to grow in number. There are also number of research that suggest garlic could regulate cholesterol.

Garlic has a substance called germanium. It is an anti-cancer agent that fights bad cells. It is packed with abundant health benefits, like:  vitamins and nutrients. It also has, potassium, Vitamins A, B, B2 and C, Calcium, Zinc and protein. Garlic safeguard your body against allergies.

There are different kinds of garlic that are process and sold for medicinal and supplemental purposes. Some farmers processed garlic so that they can avoid the odor, it’s an aging process where garlic is left to age, but it will lose much of the allicin content.

For optimum results, garlic is best planted in the late fall, approximately three weeks before the ground freezes. I also recommend using organic garlic bulbs, such as the ones that can be purchased at a farmers market.

If planting your garlic in a garden, add a layer of compost or manure a few weeks before you plant your bulb and add a layer of mulch, such as straw, after you plant it to keep the bulb warm. Break the garlic bulb into separate cloves and plant each with the root facing downward. Place each clove approximately six inches apart.

When spring rolls around (and before the ground freezes in the fall), water your garlic about three times a week. However, you should stop watering your garlic about three weeks before it reaches maturity in mid-July. The garlic should be ready to use in food and for health supplements around mid-August.

You can actually grow your garlic pretty much all year round. Garlic plants are not hard plant, they can be planted close together as long as you there is enough space for the bulbs to grow.

To read more of this go to Naturalblaze.com

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