Apparently doesn't mind 50 degree swings in temperatures between nights and days! These were planted last October.
Garlic is Up
Garlic is a tough plant. Mine bed stays in ground year round and comes up in October ~ it is knee high right now. I like easy plants, they help my "gardening confidence". What flavor did you plant?
Speaking of garlic I just planted some I found at the store,said California garlic hope that doesn't mean it wont grow here in Indiana? Also in your opinion what one is the best?
I like the "indestructible" plants, also, Podster. Between my minimal gardening skills and the, uhm, excitement of trying to garden in the middle of the High Desert, I need things that are tough!
"California garlic" is a softneck garlic. Should grow fine. I used the smaller cloves from "grocery store" garlic for garlic "greens". I don't like "green onions", but I love garlic greens. They sustain me through the winter when there isn't much green about. It's like forcing daffodils, though - the bulbs are pretty used up by the time I've harvested about 4 or 5 cuttings of greens, and they are then just useful for the compost pile. This photo is of some garlic greens shortly after a "hair cut".
Last year was the first year I had lots of space and time to garden at the same time. I went a little garlic-happy in October and planted 48 cloves. 38 are up so far, one looks pretty dead and 9 are still MIA. (Ok, 3 cloves are "Elephant" garlic, which are technically a leek, but like many, I lump them into the garlic catagory and set them in the garlic bed.)
Siberian
Applegate
Chesnok Red
Transylvania
Inchilium
Silever Rose
Music
Elephant
Sleeping garlic: http://kmom246.icfsc.com/winter2006.htm
Spring 2007: http://kmom246.icfsc.com/spring2007.htm
I will have to look it up but I believe if you live in the north, you want to plant the soft neck garlic. In the south, you want the hardneck garlic. If I am wrong, I am sure I will be corrected. I am growing an heirloom garlic which has been grown in this area for many moons....
Probably need to move them but I planted multiplier onions in with the garlic. They bloom at different times so shouldn't cross. The multipliers are blooming right now.
"The hardneck garlics especially do well in colder climates. In fact some thrive on being in the ground during very cold winters (upstate New York is a center for hardneck growers). " from http://www.thegarlicstore.com/index.cgi/howto.html
The softnecks and hardnecks seem to be performing equally well here in zone 6b, but this is my first time growing more than just greens. Not sure how they'd do in z5a, but mine sat under mulch and snow and temps down to 1*F this winter and all seem to be doing OK.
I like spicy garlic, and after tasting some of the other varieties, it's hard to go back to the "grocery store" garlic :-) I'm not a patient person, but the promise of a personal garlic festival this fall has made me plan a Whole Year in advance!
Siberian - hard neck
Applegate - soft neck
Chesnok Red - hard neck
Transylvania - soft neck
Inchilium - soft neck
Silever Rose - soft neck
Music - hard neck
Whups ~ I got it backruds.. Sorry. Guess I am growing a soft neck then.
Looks like I need to try a couple different types and compare.Thanks for all the info...Cinda
I don't have my picture of it here at work, but I used Louise Riotte's companion planting ideas and put garlic in the middle, gourds by the arch, and nasturtiums circling it all in a raised 2x6 bed. The garlic was the first up! Even if you never harvest it, it's a great companion plant.
And I'm with pod! If some green is showing because of me, it makes me feel a lot better about everything!
upstate NY here LOL. I used to be able to tell it was actually spring by the pink garlic shoots coming up. I haven't planted any at this house yet...definitely will get some in next fall.