Love it or loathe it, there’s no getting away from the fact that garlic is a big part of our diet. On the eve of National Garlic Day, EMMA DUNN visits a farm where bulbs are grown by the metre

THERE is no denying when you’ve eaten it. After just a few mouthfuls, the lingering taste of garlic will stay with you for the rest of the day, and, worst of all… everyone else knows you’ve had it too.

Whether it’s slathered on warm buttery bread, blended into a curry, or hiding in a warming soup, garlic is one of the most popular ingredients in dishes across the globe.

And with such an irresistible flavour (but only while you’re eating it), it’s no wonder there is a whole day, National Garlic Day, which takes place tomorrow, dedicated to the ‘stinking rose’, as it is often known.

In celebration of the pungent cooking ingredient, we spoke to farmer Norman Parry, who owns Lotmead Farm in Wanborough, about how it grows.

The Pick Your Own part of the farm, which opens to the public at the end of May, is home to 200 metres of garlic bulbs.

The bulbs are planted in autumn, when they are buried in the soil by about an inch and then left to grow, before they are ready to pick in July.

“The public absolutely loves fresh garlic. It goes very well in all kinds of dishes,” said Norman.

“Like all things fresh, it does taste different to what you get in the supermarket. A lot of garlic you get in shops is drier than our fresh garlic. It’s a slightly stronger taste.”

Lotmead Farm has been growing garlic for about six years.

The farm is also home to 6km of tabletop strawberry plants, as well as gooseberries, blackcurrants, raspberries, sweetcorn, carrots, runner beans, beetroot, potatoes and spinach for picking.

Lotmead also has chickens, ducks, geese, alpacas, Shetland ponies, donkeys, chickens, lambs and goats, with the chance to pet some of the animals.

It also has a bird sanctuary, an outdoor play area, a farm shop and a dairy parlour.

Norman, 63, whose dad Geoffrey bought the farm in 1950, runs everything apart from the dairy at Lotmead with John and Sue Meaden, while Josette Feddes and Jonathan Joseph run the dairy.

“Garlic is just one of lots of other things we grow,” said Norman. “I personally love it. You can add garlic to absolutely anything, that’s the beauty of it. I often add it to spaghetti and pasta dishes.

“Some people can’t stand it though. My colleague, John Meaden, is one of them. But I love the pungent taste.”

In contrast to its strong smell when cooked though, Norman said the garlic hardly smells at all when it is still in the ground.

“You can only smell it on the leaves,” he said.

“Our garlic is cultivated, but if you’ve ever smelt wild garlic you will notice that that really does pong at this time of year.”

Norman buys the seeds for the garlic from The Garlic Farm on the Isle of Wight, which is the UK’s largest specialist grower.

People who want to buy garlic from Lotmead should ask in the Farm Shop on site.

“We sell marinated garlic, and last year we tried smoked garlic,” said Norman.

“With the fresh garlic, we don’t ask the public to go and get it, we lift it for them.”

Lotmead Farm usually charges about £1 a garlic bulb.

The farm usually stays open to the public until the middle of October.

For more information visit www.lotmead.co.uk or phone 01793 790137.