A vegetable that can make or break most dishes has to be sown this month for the best chance of getting a bumber crop come spring. Whether it's making a pizza sauce come to life, being chucked into a curry spice mix, or merging with butter to be slathered on garlic bread, the garlic clove is arguably one of the chef's most important vegetables. Known for its knock out flavour and versatility, the humble clove has also been used for millenia for medicinal purposes.
It's often touted as a dietary supplement for heart-related conditions, including high blood pressure and blood cholesterol, and is even said to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. With its countless benefits, and incredible flavour, it's worth having a year-round supply which you can simply fetch from the garden. And luckily, October is a great time to plant the bulb so you don't have to wait.
When planted in autumn, the cloves will grow roots before winter, meaning they'll be ready more quickly than spring-sown garlic. As temperatures rise after winter, the cloves will start growing again and be ready for cropping by early summer. Garlic comes in five different types - hardnecks, softnecks, wild garlic, elephant garlic and rocamboles - with each of them having their own unique flavour.
Choose a wide variety of hard and softnecks for your garden and plant them in multi-celled trays or small pots. Cauliflower is another of the nation's most-loved vegetables, and whether it comes chopped up in curry or.