
     GARLIC ==========================

     CULTIVATION:  ============ Garlic is a  perennial or biennial sub-globular
     bulb consisting of 8-20 cloves surrounded by silky pink-white skin.

     Garlic  needs a sunny or partial shady  location. The soil should be rich,
     moist,  and  well drained, but tolerates  also  poor soil. Take offsets or
     divide  bulb  in autumn or spring. Plant  garlic cloves 1 1/2 inches deep.
     Sow  seeds in spring. Germination time is  about 7 days, and plant matures
     in  about  100  days. Grows in zone  1-10.  Transplant or thin to 9 inches
     apart.  Water  in dry spells and  enrich soil annually. Remove flowers for
     better flavor.

     Pick  flowers as they open, and dig  up bulbs in late summer. Harvest when
     the tops fall over, and dry the bulb in a cool and shady location.

     CULINARY  USES: ============== A strong flavoring for many dishes, hot and
     cold.  Rub around a salad bowl to  subtly flavor salads, or add 1-2 cloves
     to  dressings and marinades. Mash with butter  and bake in a fresh loaf of
     bread.  Insert  sliced cloves into joints  of meat before roasting. It can
     even be baked as a vegetable.

     To make garlic oil, which can be used in small amounts on salads, or saved
     for  medicinal purposes, blend 1 cup of peeled garlic cloves, and 1 cup of
     olive  oil.  Pour into a labeled jar.  Let the garlic be absorbed into the
     oil  for  a  week, but shake the jar  several  times a day. Strain out the
     garlic and keep the liquid cold in the refrigerator.

     To  get  the  most flavor from fresh  garlic,  you  must slice through the
     clove,  releasing  the  odorous strongly flavored  oil  inside the skin. A
     clove  of  garlic is very nutritious.  Garlic  contains thiamine and trace
     minerals  such  as  calcium, magnesium,  iron,  potassium, phosphorus, and
     zinc. 2-3 heads of garlic a day can also stimulate your immune system.

     MEDICAL  USES: ============= Garlic has the potential to treat and prevent
     a  number  of cardiovascular diseases.  Research discovered ingredients in
     garlic  that  thin the blood, so blood is  less likely to clot, and it can
     also lower the cholesterol level.

     Scientist  belive  that it is  the smelly sulfer-containing ingredients in
     garlic  that work the magic. There  are still some unresolved questions as
     to  whether  odorless  garlic is  effective.  Because many the therapeutic
     compounds  have  not  been found in  cooked  or processed garlic. The best
     effect is obtained from fresh, raw garlic.

     There  are  even hints of a possible  link  between garlic and low rate of
     stomach  and colorectal cancer. The typical  dosage from studies is in the
     range  of  3-5 cloves per 120 pound of  body  weight per day. A drink made
     from a well crushed garlic clove simmered in 1/2 pint of milk for about 10
     minutes  can  be sipped to relive a  dry hacking cough. Whole garlic bulbs
     contain a sustenance called Alliin, when grounded or chewed, it turns into
     Allicin.  Allicin inhibits or totally destroys  many types of bacteria and
     fungi,  including  the microorganisms most  likely  to cause vaginal yeast
     infection.

     WARNING:  ======== Eating garlic past by the  jar could burn the lining of
     the stomach and esophagus and even cause anemia.
