Buy garlic (softneck) bulb - Allium sativum Early Purple Wight garlic 'Early Purple Wight'

garlic 'Early Purple Wight'

Position: full sun
Soil: well-drained neutral to alkaline soil
Rate of growth: average
Hardiness: fully hardy

This robust, purple garlic will produce large bulbs as early as mid May in the south or early June further north. It hails from the village of Cadours in south western France and is the earliest European garlic. You will be able to be cooking with this garlic within as little as three months after planting, although earlier planting is best.
Garden care:
Plant the cloves (pointy side up) 2cm deep from September to December (if frost permits) at 15cm intervals. Subsequent rows should be spaced at 30cm intervals. Gently lift when the leaves start to yellow, and leave them on the surface of the soil (or in a bright shed) to ripen before storing them in a light, airy position, which is dry and frost free. There are not many varieties that show resistance to rust, but one way round this is to plant your garlic early, so that by May when rust is usually getting busy the garlic is well developed.

Please note this is one head (bulb) that can be split up into several cloves before planting. You will usually get about 4 cloves from this variety of garlic when split up for planting.