Society Garlic

Most indian home gardens have at least one curry leaf plant, from which leaves can be frequently harvested to use in meals. Society garlic has a similar scope to become widespread in Indian gardens. It is very easy to harvest (simply cut a few leaves) and has a rapid turnover rate for new leaves. Garlic is a staple in most Indian households, and many indian households seldom make a dish without garlic in it. Society garlic multiplies very rapidly, and as time goes on, bulbs can be separated and repotted to establish new colonies of plants. It is not hard for home gardeners to become completely self-sufficient for their garlic needs in this way. 

If its culinary value was not enough, society garlic produces clusters of tubular, violet flowers throughout the year. In fact, its culinary uses are often overshadowed by its value as a flowering plant in gardens. It is very drought tolerant and does not require much fertilizer to maintain its flowers and lush green growth throughout the year. Society garlic is rarely, if ever, bothered by pest and disease, and if it is, it is very easy to just chop back the infected growth, add some organic compost and let new healthy leaves take their place in a weeks time!

Society garlic makes an excellent and low maintenance alternative to garlic in gardens and farms. Unlike common garlic, which needs very specific temperature and daylength conditions to produce a crop, society garlic produces a reliable harvest throughout the year. Society garlic retains its flavor and aroma when dried and can make a good seasoning for food. It can also be added to biofertilizers, like jeevamrut and fermented plant juice (FPJ) to enhance the pest repellent and antifungal properties of those concoctions. 

The leaves can be used as a leafy green, working especially well in dals, paranthas, salads, etc. We believe customers can easily come to love this crop as it is much easier to use than regular garlic (the painstaking work of peeling ech clove comes to mind.)

Due to the plant's ornamental value, it can also be potted up and sold as a multi-purpose and easy-to-grow plant for home gardens, especially in urban settings.

Quickly establishing into evergreen clusters of plants, society garlic acts as an amazing refuge for beneficial insects, especially during the dry season. Because it flowers profusely, even in hot summer months, it keeps bees and butterflies well fed. Spiders and other predatory insects take shelter in the dense shade of the plant during peak summer. 

The characteristic smell of garlic is also a well known repellant for several pests, including animals like deer, rabbits and mice. This makes society garlic an effective border plant for fields and a good companion plant. Because of its extensive root system, society garlic can help prevent erosion and it also accumulates nutrients from deep in the soil into its leaves. This can then be used as a mulch, green manure, or composted to make these nutrients available for other crops. 

Unlike its closer relative, Garlic Chives, Society garlic does not easily set seed, so it does not take over garden spaces. It will only grow where a bulb has been planted.

Society garlic has an extraordinary, dense root system that quickly colonizes even the poorest soils. Thus, it can be used to help stabilize soils on slopes or on the edges of water bodies. Over time, as old roots die and new roots are regenerated, this contributes to increasing the organic matter of the soil. Society garlic can grow well in soils that are too shallow for most crops, often thriving even in areas with less than two inches of soil. Its roots can help hold onto moisture in the soil, and provide refuge for soil microbes after the dry season begins..

As the plant quickly produces new vegetative growth, it can be periodically cut back to use as mulch for other plants. When used as a mulch, society garlic leaves break down rapidly into compost, and also repel pests because of their strong smell. Members of the garlic family are known to have potent antifungal properties and so the mulch can also help prevent fungal disease in plants.