I first came across wild garlic when I won a vegetable box through a local food and vegetable business ten years ago. Since then, my husband is always looking out for it but it’s not something you find in your local supermarket.
Wild garlic is a seasonal vegetable. If local greengrocers manage to source them, they will sell them. More typically though, you can forage for it yourself. I have a friend whose husband loves to go foraging for mushrooms and other vegetables. He found a great location that had wild garlic amongst others but unexpectedly the council dug it all up! Since then, they have not managed to find any. So they rent an allotment from the council to grow a variety of vegetables for themselves.
Out of the blue, on my usual walk with Mabel, someone pointed out that there was some wild garlic. A small area of the natural wooded area was filled full of it and it was very pungent! They tend to grow in shady and damp conditions. I am no expert, hence I googled the pictures of wild garlic and used an app to help verify it. The leaves are long and pointed with a smooth edge. To confirm, I plucked a small portion of the leaves to smell it. It was an unmistakable pungent garlic smell!
March is the best time to forage wild garlic when the plant is still young. It was early May when we discovered it so it was a bit late in the season and the leaves were slightly tough to eat. Some of the plants had started blooming flowers too. Both the leaves and flowers (which emerge from April to June) are edible, but young leaves are better for consumption.
As this wild garlic was found near a duck pond, most of the garlic leaves were covered in bird poo and other stuff. I didn’t fancy foraging for it at all. I will continue seeking it out from local businesses instead.
If you want to forage, seek permission if it’s on private land. Only pick from areas that have a plentiful supply and only collect a small amount for personal use. Britain’s wild plants are all protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981), which makes it illegal to dig up or remove a plant. Check the law before you forage or if in doubt, why not take part in a foraging class with an expert and learn the basics?