Garlic!

I posted this in the Beginner Vegetable discussions because, although I have more than a few years experience in backyard vegetable gardens, this is the first year that I gave any serious effort to growing a garlic crop. In years past I have planted a few cloves of grocery store garlic and for a multitude of reasons was never successful. This year a fellow DG'er, MaryMcP, purchased an 8 variety sampler and shared it with me. It was somewhat expensive (my share was $24 for 8 bulbs) so I wanted to make sure I did everything right. There were garlic planting instructions that came with the sampler that were very easy to follow. The result was 66 out of 67 cloves planted grew successfully. I have made the first harvest this week and will probably harvest the rest in another week or so.

Our sampler came from gourmet garlic gardens dot com. There is a bunch of interesting things on garlic and garlic growing at this website. I also gleaned one of the most valuable tips from a comment that Horseshoe made in another thread some where about harvesting garlic when the tops are yellow not brown. Very timely and right on the mark. Thank you Shoe!

The point is that if you haven't tried to grow garlic yet don't be afraid to try it! With a few tips it's easy to do successfully.

Here's a couple of pic's of the 4 varieties I've harvested so far. Some I'll save to plant next season and of course the rest are headed for the pantry! :o)

This message was edited May 26, 2008 9:13 AM

This is the California Early and is the largest of the 4 varieties harvested so far.

The smallest is the Kettle River variety

This Italian Purple is about the size of larger grocery store bulbs and has a slight purple color to it.

This last picture is of Susanville. This is also about the size of larger bulbs found in the grocery store.

Holy cats, Dan! Looks fabulous! I think I've found something else to try--thanks for the encouragement!

Jill...I know you garden in raised beds like I do so I think you'll find it useful to know that I grew what I consider nearly a years supply in a 4'x4' area. Plant spacing was 6" in all directions, 8 rows of 8 plants each. I didn't have any bug, disease or bulb development issues with that density. The couple of extras that I had I stuck in a corner near the onions.

That is good to know, Dan. I'll probably start out on a bit more modest of a scale, but that gives me a great idea of how much production I can expect from my area. Turns out that's harder to gauge than I would've thought--should've planted lots more of lots of things to get the quantities I was hoping for.

Dan, great crop! I have only 8 vartieties like you, and from a sampler too. Different source, though. Now that I know so much more about garlic varieties, I shall plant enough this Fall for next year to sell (plus eat!)... as soon as I decide what varieties to plant so I can get them on hold. Garlic suppliers run out of the less common ones long before the end of summer. I'm leaning toward Creoles.

I have 4 more DG articles on garlic scheduled for June; there are extensive lists in 3 of the 4 of that cover bulb/clove size, storage time and tasting notes. #2 is about hardnecks, #3 on softnecks, and the following week, #4 on Creole garlic. #2 and #3 run the first week of June and #4 the following week. (#1, June 3, is just on why to grow garlic.)

Dan, when did you plant yours for late spring harvest? Our growing seasons here are so wacky, I'm never sure when something new should be planted.

That's great Darius! I'm looking forward to reading those articles. I haven't settled on any favorites yet but so far I like the artichokes with their larger size. I still need to harvest the rest and determine which of the later varieties I might like. I wish I had a little more gardening room so I could try a bunch of the ones I don't have now. :o)

Jill... I'll have to go back in my garden blog for exact dates but I think I planted them in October. Wacky is a kind word!

will grocery store garlic not work to plant? I've never tried it before and use a lot of garlic (1-2 heads per week).
Thanks!

Grocery store garlic is just fine to plant, and I have grown some. For me, its only that the grocery store varieties (usually California Early and California Late) are bred to ship and store well, but don't begin to explore the taste nuances available in other varieties.

Do you know how long from when you plant till it is ready to harvest?

Plant in October, harvest when the tops start to yellow in summer.

I have two types of Creole, planted in November. They grew all winter, and now, some leaves (outer) are brown, but the inner/upper leaves are still green, but some have brown tips. The bulb I pulled was about the size of a golf ball. Do I need to get them up, or can I leave them until they're larger? I seem to get different info wherever I look!
Thanks for any input...

Margo

What Creoles do you have?

i think you might get mixed answers about harvesting from everyone. I usually harvest when some inner leaves are still green and the rest have yellowed, or browned, esp. if I have softnecks I want to braid.

Burgundy and Ajo Rojo (sp). I'm afraid I won't know which is which, because the identifying sticks are unreadable, but I should be able to tell them apart, I hope:).
I'll keep trying to figure it out, maybe I'll just pull some as I need them, and see how they do...
Thanks!

This might help:
Ajo Rojo - A stronger Creole Garlic. Harvests mid-late season - stores 7-8 months. Ajo Rojo is almost red, whereas Burgundy is almost purple. Ajo Rojo is usually more more pungent than Burgundy although some years it can be milder, depending on weather.

Burgundy - A mild Creole garlic. Harvests mid-late season, stores 7-8 months. Burgundy has a mild, yet full flavor with only moderate heat.

Grin, Yup, that's what I read, too:). But what constitutes mid-late season. I'm gonna take a picture.....:)

very interesting--and then i guess you save a clove for the next year to plant from each variety? i like garlic but didn't really know there were so many kinds--you really can tell the difference in taste? if you get too much you can make pickled garlic--we have a jar in fridge now--

Linda, one clove planted will make 1 head next year. How many cloves per head depends on the variety. Some have as many as 20, some as few as 6.

darius--i was in the appalachian mountains last weekend -only in georgia--went to a wedding in a winery--did a little hiking to a waterfall too--lucky you to live near the appalachians! thanks for imput on garlic

Thanks. I've lived in these mountains so long I consider them "my" mountains, LOL.

the land here is so flat that our kids used to call our street the hill because if you looked it had a slight incline!! i heard the appalacian trail goes all the way to maine

Yep. The Appalachian Trail is a continuous marked footpath that goes along the ridge (mostly) from Katahdin in Maine to Springer Mountain in Georgia, a distance of about 2160 miles. I live about 20 miles west of the AT (as it is called), and have DG friends who are looking at property abutting it just SE of here.