I just got an email alert from Territorial Seed Co., and am thinking of actually ordering garlic to plant instead of tucking in little cloves from the grocery store. I live in SE Texas, which brings up the question of how can it be this humid when there is no rain, but I digress.
I am figuring an Italian garlic that can definitely be grown in western Oregon ought to grow here, right? Yes? No? I mean, I figure a Polish, etc., garlic would need a cold winter and not that hot a summer.
Any and all advice and stories appreciated!
Planting garlic?
brigidlily, I really like Territorial Seeds, but I ordered my garlic from these guys upon the recomendation of many kind Dave's Gardeners: http://www.gourmetgarlicgardens.com/
They are here in Texas and they give really good advice and info on growing garlic here in Texas. I order a southern sampler two years ago and had good success. Planted last fall from the crop and we ate all ensuing garlic. Will order again this fall.
Oh, I misspoke. The fellow is in Texas, but the garlic comes from various states. The website looks different than when I visited last! Still, I have very good luck with the garlic!
Thanks so much! It can get frustrating when so much of the gardening stuff available is geared toward the Midwest. Lucky for those north of us, but Texas really is a whole 'nother country...
I will get my garlic from this guy!
Interesting ~ I had just read an e letter from a vegetable gardening site that had Texas garlic written up. This is the link if interested... http://www.vegetablegardener.com/item/11277/are-you-ready-for-garlic/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=eletter&utm_content=20110817-tomatoes&utm_campaign=vegetable-gardener and if I recall that was the garlic site mentioned.
I always buy my garlic at SAM"S club. One bag for less than $4.
I plant the entire bag and I have garlic for the all year.
Plant my garlic cloves out from October 1st to the 15th.
Easy and no fuss !!
drthor, sometimes you embarrass me with your simple brilliance. I usually plant from the store, but this time I thought I would like to know the variety I am planting. The website podster posted says to get the site ready. Is it too hot to plant it now? I mean, since it's too hot to breathe and all...
I plant onions and garlic in Sept or Oct.
Sept or Oct here, too. Last year I planted out a batch of onions on New Year's Day. They also turned out well. I think I will stick to Sept of Oct on the garlic, though.
drthor, do you separate the cloves and plant them, or the whole pod?
As some of Y'all might recall I have been trying to establish a garlic bed that would be self substaining there are some around here but not in my yard my BIL has one at his place that he says dates back to his boyhood and he is 74 so this fall I plan to go out to his place and dig some ..Maybe it is some kind that is no longer available in seed company circles...Last year I planted in early OCT and it all came up only to get hammered by a very cold and late winter,it survived only to get beat up badly by this summers awful heat
Grits ~ I was given a start of some heirloom garlic by an elderly friend here. It stays in ground year around like you are talking about. It is treated like a perennial bed.
It begins to grow in Oct and by May the foliage will die back but the garlic in ground will be unharmed. Once you get a bed started, you will always have one. Good luck!
sybram,
I plant each clove of garlic separately. I don't plant the small ones.
Just 4" apart and 3 time the dept of the bulb.
They will need sunlight.
They have no problem with the cold and freeze ... they will just pop up late.
Plant on September 26 and harevest in May - GOOD LUCK
In central TX: Creole, Lorz Italian, and Turban varieties are recommended - good luck finding the "seeds" (pods/cloves actually) this time of year! I had to order mine on EBay since Gourmet Garlic (web site) sources were sold out! Yes, you can stick cloves from the grocery store and they'll grow but I'm going for named, adapted varieties this time around.
Central Texas Gardener had Sam Slaughter of Gabriel Valley Farm on talking about growing garlic - see link for details:
http://www.klru.org/ctg/resource/Plant_List/Growing_Garlic/
Ms. Tommie