Papaya - a world class meat tenderizer, natural digestive aid, prevents ulcers, and also a soft contact lense cleaner.Garlic The Safety Factor
Garlic’s anticlotting action may help prevent heart attack and some kinds of stroke, but medicinal amounts could conceivably cause problems for those with clotting disorders. If you have a clotting disorder, consult your physician before using garlic in medicinal amounts.
Some people with allergies to garlic develop a rash from touching or eating the herb. If the herb gives you a rash, don’t eat it. Garlic-induced upset stomach has also been reported.
Garlic enters the milk of nursing mothers and may cause colic in infants.
It has never been implicated in miscarriage or birth defects.
Other Cautions
For otherwise healthy non-pregnant, non-nursing adults who do not have clotting disorders, garlic is considered safe even in large amounts.
Garlic should be used in medicinal amounts only in consultation with your doctor. If garlic causes minor discomforts, such as stomach upset, use less or stop using it. Let your doctor know if you experience unpleasant effects or if the symptoms for which the herb is being used do not improve significantly in two weeks.
A Different Kind of Bulb
Garlic grows easily from seeds or cloves. It’s easier to start with cloves. Plant them 2 inches deep and 6 inches apart in early spring for harvesting in fall.
Garlic is cold-tolerant and may be planted up to six weeks before the final frost date. It thrives best in rich, deeply cultivated, well-drained soil. Do not overwater. Full sun produces the largest bulbs, but garlic tolerates some shade. During summer, cut back the flower stalks so the plant devotes all its energy to producing fat aromatic bulbs.
Harvest bulbs in late summer. Store them in cool darkness.
Take care not to bruise the bulbs. Bruising invites mold and insects. You can braid the leaves into a wreath or rope and display it in your kitchen, removing heads as needed.