I was surprised to learn recently that, according to Google Trends data gathered by AllAboutGardening.com, the most popular fall-planted crop in the United States is…. garlic.
My guess would have been kale. Possibly beets. Maybe Brussels sprouts. But garlic?
Inspired, I conducted my own deep dive into Google’s search trends, comparing Americans’ interest in growing garlic with interest in growing other fall-planted bulbs, like tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and crocus. Surely, colorful blooms would trump the spicy, pungent vegetable.
No. When people used the search term “how to grow…,” garlic was again the frontrunner when compared with those spring bulb plants. I was so gobsmacked that for the first time in my life, I used the word “gobsmacked.”
Could it be that Americans have a previously undisclosed obsession with garlic? Or are we collectively perplexed about how to grow it? I love garlic as much as the next girl, but I suspect it’s the latter,
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