I'm about to order garlic to plant for the first time and I'm kind of overwhelmed by all the options that are out there. Want to advise?
I'm thinking of getting a sampler pack from either Filaree Farm or Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. I understand that Filaree is great quality, but I assume the garlic from SESE may be better suited to my region.
both packs contain the same except one has a porcelain and the other a rocambole. not sure of your latitude, garlic from washington tho may be better suited than from a company in the south. generally garlic grows better in the north but some cultivars do better way down in the south like creoles I live in Northern Virginia.
Filaree's sampler includes "1/4 lb each of four basic types; Porcelain & Purple Stripe hardnecks and Artichoke & Silverskin softneck varieties."
SESE's sampler includes "1/4 lb of an artichoke-type softneck, 1/4 lb of a silverskin-type softneck, 1/4 lb of a rocambole-type hardneck, and 1/4 lb of a purple-striped hardneck."
Both are about $25 for one pound of garlic.
as tom said that is very expensive i'd say it's highway robbery.
if i were you i'd email karen at http://wegrowgarlic.com and ask what she has left, it will be slim picking tho. another source would be lee taylor at lee_1_1_1@hotmail.com
and ask what he has left.
I did pick up 5 bulbs of garlic at a local farmer's market. They didn't know what it is -- best I can tell is that it's some kind of hardneck.
They're not very big and I'm assuming storage time will be mediocre.
no way to know cuz all you know is it's a hardneck
I don't have much of a sense yet of the differences among varieties that are out there.
i recommend the book growing great garlic by ron engeland, try an interlibrary loan or buy it. differences are storage time, taste, size of cloves and number of cloves. frankly i'd stick with rocambole and porcelain types initially, both are hardnecks. rocamboles store 5-6 months porcelains can store longer but within each type there are some that are shorter or longer storage The garlic I got locally is a bit more flavorful than grocery-store garlic
that goes without saying! cooked, but didn't really taste very different to me.
as tom said garlic tends to taste similar some is milder some hotter. i'm getting to the point of picking the 5 or 7 varieties i like and sticking with them from now on. any thing i try is pretty much like others. i did like korean red tho a hardneck, not sure if it is an Asiatic or rocambole there is some confusion as to the name being used. it was very hot and spicy and i liked it unfortunately i decide to try others and lost the seed stock tho i see similar names or that name at garlic sites for sale To add to what I have, I would ideally like to try out any or all of the following: something with a bit of a different flavor (not TOO hot though)
rocambole varieties are the most flavorful but keep only 4-5 months in storage and they have large easy to peel cloves porcelains also have large cloves and are easy to peel and store longer but may not be quite as tasty, something with bigger cloves than the ones I got locally, something that will store for a year
you need a silverskin or possible an artichoke type for such long storage, and something that is mild/sweet for eating raw
hotter would/should store longer due to the sulfur compounds that make it hotter mild and sweet varieties exist look at http://wegrowgalic.com website and read the descriptions but most is probably long gone but you'll know for next year (my daughter likes that).
I don't even have much of an idea of how much to plant. Got 4 people in the family and I cook with a clove or two of garlic pretty frequently.
tom's recommendation is good but you can't have too much garlic, at least i can't! i plant 200 cloves for just me and of course i use that for seed stock too. for me that's a good amount you'll need to figure that out based upon how much you'll use once you grow it and know how it tastes and how much you use. garden garlic like tomatoes doesn't really taste like store garlic.
Any thoughts or recommendations would be much appreciated. Pick one or the other sampler, or try a variety or two by themselves? I know time is getting short for this, and a lot of things are sold out, and I should go ahead and order!
unless you want to pay about 50 to 100% more than it is worth i'd stay away from the sampler and i suspect you'll not like the ting cloves from silverskins if you want to peel it. it is very late to be buying garlic. most places are selling out in july and by august it is hard to get varieties! a local farmers market is a good place or a health food store but you won't know what variety it is just that it is a hard or softneck type. a garlic festival is an excellent place to buy garlic as you can taste and see it. any rocambole type would have excellent taste - i grow german red and it can be HOT or not as hot but flavor is excellent, large cloves peels easy and would do well in your area. last year i grew several rocamboles but it was a disaster, won't get into it so i should be able to discuss them but had bad results so i can't. purple stripes and marbled purple stripes are supposed to be very tasty, have good storage and good sized easy to peel cloves. i'm trying metechi this fall. i have grown pretty much the same varieties for the past few years. german red and porcelains called music, german red, some others along with different softnecks each year but i am giving up on them except for an artichoke i'm trying this year for flavor and storage called simmonetti, karen says it has good flavor and can store a long time also being an artichoke they have larger cloves than most softnecks. other than an artichoke, i would not recommend any of the softnecks. i have grown many silverskins and from looking at my garden records i have grown more of them than hardnecks cuz i stick with the 2 germans and music. those 3 are very good and would do well for you.