I’ve usually just last minute planted garlic in the fall in the raised beds, but wondered about dif varieties that you like growing. (I’m in the northeast)
Thanks for any suggestions.
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This place is near to where I live:
https://www.thegarlicfarm.co.uk/growing
An entirely different continent, but you may find some help in there, and what’s a few thousand miles between Onions?
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We like the flavor of Spanish Roja.
I am experimenting with “creole” varieties because they are (usually) hardnecks that do okay in Mediterranean climates. The one I tried first was Aglio Rosso ( LEGALLY smuggled back from Italy),
and I keep trying that one, but I’ve also tried Ajo Rojo, Creole Red, and Burgundy. This year I also hope to try Rose De Lautrec.
Filaree Farm has a lot of great info, and their climate is a bit more like mine than most.
I was going to share my other garlic bookmarks, but I have 43!
Gourmet Garlic Gardens is another of my favorite sites for info, and sometimes sources.
I tried Whistling Duck last season, also sort of Mediterranean.
I’ve read the bulbs acclimatize faster if they are from a similar climate.
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My experience with various garlics is quite limited, but I do like the Spanish roja too. That’s the variety I’ve been trying to grow the last few years (with only mild success). I’m going to give it another go this year though, and fingers crossed for next year!
I’m in in the northeast as well, so I don’t get the long bright sunny months. They have survived the frost well (I planted in October last year) and learned to ignore even if it sprouts early given an unexpected warm spell.
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I tried two new varieties this year that seemed to have done well in my (Northeast) climate - Montana Zemo and Polish Hardneck. They both produced nice large scapes and heads/cloves, with fewer rotters than some of the other varieties I have tried. I also grow Russian Red, Music and German Giant, but I plan to eliminate German Giant (and possibly Russian Red) this year since they just don’t seem to do well for me.
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General question for all you garlic growers here: do you buy fresh new bulbs each fall, or do you save some of your harvest for planting? Have you tried planting any cloves that may be older than that (i.e., harvested this summer), assuming they haven’t gone bad of course?
I like Northern White for the size of the cloves and flavor. Music is very, meh, to me. Chesnok Red is spicy. I’ve ordered from Keene’s Garlic. I did not care of Pehoski Purple–to “earthy” for lack of a better word.
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I save some of my harvest for planting, although last year I bought a couple of new varieties to try. I don’t plan to buy any this year. I harvest in early-mid July and the heads I set aside for planting are still in perfect condition when planting time (end of October) rolls around.
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I usually buy fresh new bulbs each fall, but often plant saved or swapped from the same year as well. I harvest May or June, and plant in November. I can’t recall a bulb lasting longer than from one fall until the fall of the following year, but I would love it!
