garlic harvest results - Page 2

stormymater · September 11, 2009

They are outta the box! I pulled out a mesh bag full of garlic bulbs that have little fortune cookie-like paper labels around their little necks! I'll put them in a nice cool dry closet until time to plant (80 degrees here - too hot!). I'll be so interested to see what grows well - by the time I found wegrowgarlic.com folks the selection was reduced but I still managed to get - French, Chinese Purpple, Silver White, Romanian Red, Purple Glazer, Indian LAte, Shandong, Leningrad & 2 bulbs of "Dog House Blend" LOL. SO I'll be growing in pots, along the edge of my raised beds, in bags... just like with the tomatoes but different. Lotsa compost & mulch. I was thinking the pots will chill them more than the soil too.

tjg911 · September 11, 2009

agreed and do not separate the cloves until you are ready to plant.

tom

huntsman · December 20, 2009

This is fascinating!

I had no idea that you got more than one type of garlic (though I feel a bit silly now!) and I would love to learn more...

Sounds like you bought cloves, stormymater, so I guess you can't grow from seed?

TZ-OH6 · December 20, 2009

Garlic is one of the few plants that doesn't produce seeds. Man has inbred it so long for domestic use that there is no wild form and the plant does not produce seeds (asexual reproduction only), which means that you have to wait around for a loooong time for beneficial mutations to show up.

That being said, work in Japan and Israel has resulted in some garlic setting seed (a little at first) so that now researchers have some seed producing strains which will enable them to increase genetic diversity via crossing different strains (sexual reproduction).

mensplace · December 20, 2009

Maybe heresy to say so, but I have been purchasing the beautiful, large bulbs at Atlanta's International markets. When commuting to SF and the Silicon Valley weekly I often visited the local markets where I saw mostly a deep puplr strain that to me was HOT, harsh and acrid. Even made it to "The Sting Rose" in SF where, when you order garlic bread you had better be serious...not at all like the lightly coated stuff here, but even with the fines SF sourdough, the 1/4 inch plus of the stuff was a challenge. I would love to sample others, but just can't enjoy hot, caustic, bitter, acrid varieties...I'm probably too anglo. Are there other full flavored, rich, full of depth varieties that may be different from the typical white skinned, but still not overwhelming?

tjg911 · December 20, 2009

the bubils that form at the end of the scape and cloves themselves can be considered seed. planting the bubils takes a couple of years to get anything of size so planting large cloves is the way to go.

velikipop · December 20, 2009

Garlic, in fact does produce seeds. Like other alliums they grow in shoots from the plant. For garlic it is the hardneck variety that produces the scapes with the bulbis/seeds contained within. If you plant the little bulbis it will take three yeas before it will produce garlic bulbs. Softneck garlic does ot produce the scapes, so this might be what TZ is refering to, though sometimes it will throw up small bulbs at the bottom end of the stalk.

Alex

TomNJ · December 20, 2009

This website is my favorite for garlic:

http://wegrowgarlic.com/301.html

Karen and Mike have a small family farm in Wisconsin and sell over 100 varieties of garlic - they even sell by the bulb instead of by the pound like most other sites. They are great friendly people and their garlic is always perfect. The site also has lots of information about the varieties and how to grow, store, and cook with them.

I have 275 cloves in the ground now and will harvest in July. Garlic and tomatoes are my favorite crops, and they go so well together.

TomNJ

huntsman · December 20, 2009

WOW!

That's an incredible amount of cloves, Tom.

Thanks for the link - I'm off to learn more!

TZ-OH6 · December 20, 2009

Bulblets are not seeds. They actually prevent true seeds from forming.

http://www.agri.gov.il/en/blogs/chap...&chapterId=174

http://www.garlicfarm.ca/article-garlic-seeds.htm

velikipop · December 20, 2009

Yes, technically speaking bulbils are not "true seed", but they will produce undifferentiated bulbs in three years. Acording to T.J. Meredith in his, The Complete Book of Garlic, reseachers in, Japan, Germany and the USA, have produced "viable garlic seed". When this might be available commercially is not clear.

Tom, What!!!! Only 275 cloves planted.

Alex

TomNJ · December 20, 2009

Hey it's a small garden!

Gotta leave room for the maters!

TomNJ

b54red · December 21, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by mensplace

Maybe heresy to say so, but I have been purchasing the beautiful, large bulbs at Atlanta's International markets. When commuting to SF and the Silicon Valley weekly I often visited the local markets where I saw mostly a deep puplr strain that to me was HOT, harsh and acrid. Even made it to "The Sting Rose" in SF where, when you order garlic bread you had better be serious...not at all like the lightly coated stuff here, but even with the fines SF sourdough, the 1/4 inch plus of the stuff was a challenge. I would love to sample others, but just can't enjoy hot, caustic, bitter, acrid varieties...I'm probably too anglo. Are there other full flavored, rich, full of depth varieties that may be different from the typical white skinned, but still not overwhelming?

I've planted many varieties but most of the best tasting garlics are not reliable in our hot humid climate. One of the best all around good, full flavored garlics to me is Inchelium Red. It has a rich garlic flavor with decent sized cloves that can be peeled without too much trouble. I also like the various Creole types but they are very small with little cloves that are harder to peel.
If you want a nearly foolproof variety that is extremely mild then try some Elephant Garlic. I've been growing it for 30 years with only a few bad seasons. It makes huge bulbs with 3 to 5 cloves that you might think are too big to use; but don't worry they are so mild I don't know how you can use too much. We put 9 or 10 cloves in the pot roast in the oven and it makes wonderful gravy with a very mild hint of garlic. If you did this with any other type of garlic I think it would be so garlicky it would be inedible.

mensplace · December 21, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by b54red

I've planted many varieties but most of the best tasting garlics are not reliable in our hot humid climate. One of the best all around good, full flavored garlics to me is Inchelium Red. It has a rich garlic flavor with decent sized cloves that can be peeled without too much trouble. I also like the various Creole types but they are very small with little cloves that are harder to peel. If you want a nearly foolproof variety that is extremely mild then try some Elephant Garlic. I've been growing it for 30 years with only a few bad seasons. It makes huge bulbs with 3 to 5 cloves that you might think are too big to use; but don't worry they are so mild I don't know how you can use too much. We put 9 or 10 cloves in the pot roast in the oven and it makes wonderful gravy with a very mild hint of garlic. If you did this with any other type of garlic I think it would be so garlicky it would be inedible.

Towards the end of october I put out a couple hundred individual bulbs of the supermarket varieties ...all from beautiful, white, large, solid heads, as well as several heads for elephant garlic. They are all now a foot tall and unscathed by several 26 degree F nights, heavy frosts, and continual rain since then. They were simply laid atop the soil covered with manure and deep hay and then more manure. Some sites indicate that I still have until January if I wanted other varieties, but most vendors say colosed out for the season. No idea when they begin shipping again, but in the future I would enjoy trying some others as long as they are not hot and cloying. The jar of crushed/chopped garlic I primarily use is not of a very pleasant variety..not hot but a very concentrated flavor that is TOO garlic as in cloyingly harsh..not at all smooth in taste. I DON't like the hot purple, red varieties I tasted in San Jose and SF. What I do like is a smooth, pleasant, non-ascerbic, non-cloying style...whatever that is. Must be my anglo/southern taste are simply not used to the powerful stuff...either that or some deeply seated taste memories of my mother's lavish use of ancient garlic powders in the fifties. She was of the Campbells soup casserole generation, boxed pizza mixes, spam, and chipped beef on toast. Her one cooking setting was HIGH and whether with black pepper or garlic..if a dash is good, several tablespoons must be better.

tjg911 · December 21, 2009

i'd second the vote for http://wegrowgarlic.com . i typically buy from local farmers if i need a variety i don't have but i tried them based upon a lot of positive comments at gw allium forum. any garlic i buy in the future will be from wegrowgarlic.

all i can say if you appreciate customer service these people are from 50 years ago! i spent several days emailing them asking questions, explaining what i wanted and they were just fantastic. no question went unanswered and was answered very quickly. no matter how many times i asked dumb questions they were helpful and answered my questions.

i bought a softneck for long term storage that has large cloves called chamiskuri. this may become my main variety because all the hardnecks i've grown just don't last as long as i'd like, about 7-8 months is the best from music.

softnecks store longer but typically have small cloves that are very difficult to peel. i used to grow nootka rose and french pink but they have small bulbs with small cloves that are very hard to peel. nootka rose would last 1 year but french pink no better than most porceleans (hardneck variety).

chamiskuri is an artichoke variety and they have large outer cloves and store a year. so i got 3 pounds for a very very reasonable price, forget those places that rip you off at $12.99 or $15.99 or even $21.99 a pound, i can't remember the exact cost but it was around $5 a pound, seems i got 3 pounds for $12 plus a few more for shipping, total cost was just under $16, $15.80 iirc. if these work out as expected, i'll buy about 20 or 30 pounds and 1/2 my garlic will be chamiskuri or some other softneck. i may buy different softnecks to see what works best for me but large cloves that peel easy is a must along with very long storage.

growing 275 cloves is not all that unusual. i planted around 215 or 225 cloves this year. i grow for eating until the next harvest plus you have to use about 1/3 for seed stock.

September 11, 2009	#17
tjg911 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: zone 5b northwest connecticut Posts: 2,570	agreed and do not separate the cloves until you are ready to plant. tom __________________ I need a hero I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the end of the night He’s gotta be strong And he’s gotta be fast And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight I need a hero I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the morning light He’s gotta be sure And it’s gotta be soon And he’s gotta be larger than life

December 20, 2009	#22
velikipop Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Langley, BC Posts: 768	Garlic, in fact does produce seeds. Like other alliums they grow in shoots from the plant. For garlic it is the hardneck variety that produces the scapes with the bulbis/seeds contained within. If you plant the little bulbis it will take three yeas before it will produce garlic bulbs. Softneck garlic does ot produce the scapes, so this might be what TZ is refering to, though sometimes it will throw up small bulbs at the bottom end of the stalk. Alex __________________ I'll plant and I'll harvest what the earth brings forth The hammer's on the table, the pitchfork's on the shelf Bob Dylan

December 20, 2009	#26
velikipop Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Langley, BC Posts: 768	Yes, technically speaking bulbils are not "true seed", but they will produce undifferentiated bulbs in three years. Acording to T.J. Meredith in his, The Complete Book of Garlic, reseachers in, Japan, Germany and the USA, have produced "viable garlic seed". When this might be available commercially is not clear. Tom, What!!!! Only 275 cloves planted. Alex __________________ I'll plant and I'll harvest what the earth brings forth The hammer's on the table, the pitchfork's on the shelf Bob Dylan

September 11, 2009	#16
stormymater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pleasure Island, NC 8a Posts: 1,162	They are outta the box! I pulled out a mesh bag full of garlic bulbs that have little fortune cookie-like paper labels around their little necks! I'll put them in a nice cool dry closet until time to plant (80 degrees here - too hot!). I'll be so interested to see what grows well - by the time I found wegrowgarlic.com folks the selection was reduced but I still managed to get - French, Chinese Purpple, Silver White, Romanian Red, Purple Glazer, Indian LAte, Shandong, Leningrad & 2 bulbs of "Dog House Blend" LOL. SO I'll be growing in pots, along the edge of my raised beds, in bags... just like with the tomatoes but different. Lotsa compost & mulch. I was thinking the pots will chill them more than the soil too.

December 20, 2009	#18
huntsman Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Johannesburg, South Africa - GrowZone 9 Posts: 595	This is fascinating! I had no idea that you got more than one type of garlic (though I feel a bit silly now!) and I would love to learn more... Sounds like you bought cloves, stormymater, so I guess you can't grow from seed?

December 20, 2009	#19
TZ-OH6 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Mid-Ohio Posts: 847	Garlic is one of the few plants that doesn't produce seeds. Man has inbred it so long for domestic use that there is no wild form and the plant does not produce seeds (asexual reproduction only), which means that you have to wait around for a loooong time for beneficial mutations to show up. That being said, work in Japan and Israel has resulted in some garlic setting seed (a little at first) so that now researchers have some seed producing strains which will enable them to increase genetic diversity via crossing different strains (sexual reproduction).

December 20, 2009	#20
mensplace Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: USA Posts: 1,013	Maybe heresy to say so, but I have been purchasing the beautiful, large bulbs at Atlanta's International markets. When commuting to SF and the Silicon Valley weekly I often visited the local markets where I saw mostly a deep puplr strain that to me was HOT, harsh and acrid. Even made it to "The Sting Rose" in SF where, when you order garlic bread you had better be serious...not at all like the lightly coated stuff here, but even with the fines SF sourdough, the 1/4 inch plus of the stuff was a challenge. I would love to sample others, but just can't enjoy hot, caustic, bitter, acrid varieties...I'm probably too anglo. Are there other full flavored, rich, full of depth varieties that may be different from the typical white skinned, but still not overwhelming?

December 20, 2009	#23
TomNJ Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2009 Location: Floyd VA Posts: 767	This website is my favorite for garlic: http://wegrowgarlic.com/301.html Karen and Mike have a small family farm in Wisconsin and sell over 100 varieties of garlic - they even sell by the bulb instead of by the pound like most other sites. They are great friendly people and their garlic is always perfect. The site also has lots of information about the varieties and how to grow, store, and cook with them. I have 275 cloves in the ground now and will harvest in July. Garlic and tomatoes are my favorite crops, and they go so well together. TomNJ

December 20, 2009	#27
TomNJ Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2009 Location: Floyd VA Posts: 767	Hey it's a small garden! Gotta leave room for the maters! TomNJ

December 21, 2009	#30
tjg911 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: zone 5b northwest connecticut Posts: 2,570	i'd second the vote for http://wegrowgarlic.com . i typically buy from local farmers if i need a variety i don't have but i tried them based upon a lot of positive comments at gw allium forum. any garlic i buy in the future will be from wegrowgarlic. all i can say if you appreciate customer service these people are from 50 years ago! i spent several days emailing them asking questions, explaining what i wanted and they were just fantastic. no question went unanswered and was answered very quickly. no matter how many times i asked dumb questions they were helpful and answered my questions. i bought a softneck for long term storage that has large cloves called chamiskuri. this may become my main variety because all the hardnecks i've grown just don't last as long as i'd like, about 7-8 months is the best from music. softnecks store longer but typically have small cloves that are very difficult to peel. i used to grow nootka rose and french pink but they have small bulbs with small cloves that are very hard to peel. nootka rose would last 1 year but french pink no better than most porceleans (hardneck variety). chamiskuri is an artichoke variety and they have large outer cloves and store a year. so i got 3 pounds for a very very reasonable price, forget those places that rip you off at $12.99 or $15.99 or even $21.99 a pound, i can't remember the exact cost but it was around $5 a pound, seems i got 3 pounds for $12 plus a few more for shipping, total cost was just under $16, $15.80 iirc. if these work out as expected, i'll buy about 20 or 30 pounds and 1/2 my garlic will be chamiskuri or some other softneck. i may buy different softnecks to see what works best for me but large cloves that peel easy is a must along with very long storage. growing 275 cloves is not all that unusual. i planted around 215 or 225 cloves this year. i grow for eating until the next harvest plus you have to use about 1/3 for seed stock.