Ordering garlic for 2011 planting

[Suze]

I'm going to make this a temporary sticky thread, so that hopefully no one who is into garlic misses it.

For the most part, it is still a bit on the early side to order garlic to plant in the fall from most vendors.

However, Filaree Farm is already fully open for 2011 orders, and is in fact already sold out of a few varieties. They have some of the best selection (good to great variety of most types), and are usually also one of the first to sell out. If you want those hard-to-find Creoles, Filaree is currently the very best source I know of to get them from, and they sell out of those Creoles fast! If you live in a warmer winter climate - southern or coastal 7a (or maybe even 6b) and up and always wanted to try some Creoles, take note and get your orders in with them now! Filaree is one of the very best all-round sources I've ordered from over the years.

Another source I would definitely recommend for garlic is We Grow Garlic in WI. Their planting stock is awesome! I got some bulbs from them last year where some of the Artichoke types were 3.5 inches +. Never seen garlic that big! They are not currently taking orders, but if you want to order from Karen and Mike this year, I would highly recommend you contact them to get on their list to be notified via e-mail when the 2011 catalog is up for ordering (just put "I'd like to get on your email list to be notified when the 2011 online catalog is available to order from" - or some such.) They don't put up garlic for orders until they have actually harvested - unlike many other vendors. Note: We Grow Garlic sells out fast, and is a smaller company. Once you get the notification email, go ahead and place your order asap. If you wait a week or two, they will likely already be sold out for several varieties.

Last year, WGG had a rather unusual / eclectic selection of Marbled Purple Stripes and Artichoke varieties that one likely would not find elsewhere. I had to do searches on several before deciding on my order, because I'd never even heard of them before. Can't really speak to the Rocambole or Porcelain types, etc. because I don't grow those here, but the offerings on their site for those types were also rather extensive.

Gourmet Garlic Gardens in Texas is another recommended source. Bob was one of the very first people I ordered a whole lot of planting stock from when I seriously got into garlic 3-4 years ago. He's a really nice fellow and is extremely knowledgeable about growing garlic. His site is a treasure trove of info, especially for those of us who live in warmer winter climates.

It looks like Bob has changed things up recently where he's providing a marketplace for you to buy directly from the grower, instead of from him. (these are small to med sized market growers who specialize in the varieties they offer, as far as I can tell - always good to support those folks.) But it still seems like he's got a great selection. Looks like some of the varieties are still TBA - especially the Creoles (I suspect contingent on harvest) and you might need to check back in early June or so.


This is by no means a comprehensive list of possible sources, just a few I have personally ordered from and would recommend. If anyone else has a recommended vendor they would like to add to the list (only someone you have personally ordered from before please) feel free to mention them in this thread, along with what might be the best time to order from them and/or recommended varieties.

I just mainly wanted to remind y'all that it is time to start thinking about ordering your garlic to plant in the fall. For folks newer to ordering garlic, I also wanted to make sure you are aware that if you wait until the fall to place your orders, most vendors will already be sold out of many or most of their varieties by then.

[fortyonenorth]

Thanks for the reminder, Suze. It's hard to think about fall garlic now, but you're right, many of the varieties sell-out quickly.

I'd like to add a quick note, too, about saving your own seed garlic. Some varieties will do well the first year from purchased heads/cloves. Music is one that, for me, did great from the get-go. Others, however, take several years to fully adapt to a new site and growing conditions and, hence, to achieve their maximum potential.

If you don't want to save seed garlic, I'm willing to bet that you'll get better results by purchasing garlic from a vendor who has similar climate and growing conditions.

[hostamomma]

They just opened up for ordering! I went a bit overboard and ordered 20 varieties (tried 12 last year, just about ready to harvest!). The bulbs they shipped last year were plump, healthy, and all cloves sprouted for me this spring.

The only downer, they were just about the only place I found online that would let you order only one of each bulb type. That's wonderful if you want to try a lot of varieties but don't need to feed a town!

This year you order in groups of 5 bulbs, however their prices are very reasonable for what you get. Since each bulb has anywhere from 4-8 or more cloves that is from 20-40+heads of garlic of each type!

Hee, Hee! I'm sure we'll figure out a way to go through it!

[tjg911]

btw, i did not mention who i am buying from because suze asked that we have bought from a source prior to recommending them. if you want to buy varieties by the bulb to try 10 or 20 different ones buying just 10 or 20 bulbs or if you want to buy large bulbs with good sized cloves for seed stock i'm sure karen will give you the email address of the fellow she gave to me if you ask her. if karen recommends him i figure he is ok.

tom

[fortyonenorth]

I hadn't planned to order any additional garlic this year, but Tom's post about WGG piqued my interest. After visiting their website, I applaud their decision. And, as someone pointed out, even with their new way of selling, it's still competitively priced.

From their site:

"For 2011 we will not be able to sell our garlic by individual bulbs as we have in the past. We do wish we could continue to sell it that way but garlic is our hobby and unfortunately there just is not enough time in the day for everything it seems. Our kids are growing up too fast and we don't want to miss out on spending some free time with them. They are now old enough to do fun things and are still "okay" at the moment to hang out with so we need to take full advantage of it before they want nothing to do with us in a few years! Accordingly, we planted less garlic last fall than we have previously (and we will probably plant less again this fall)....."

[Suze]

Originally Posted by tjg911

btw, i did not mention who i am buying from because suze asked that we have bought from a source prior to recommending them. if you want to buy varieties by the bulb to try 10 or 20 different ones buying just 10 or 20 bulbs or if you want to buy large bulbs with good sized cloves for seed stock i'm sure karen will give you the email address of the fellow she gave to me if you ask her. if karen recommends him i figure he is ok.

tom

No worries if you do, Tom. You can post that info here if you want, especially since you've explained it was on the recommendation of Karen and made it clear you've never used the source before. Mischka and I just would not want this thread to turn into a boatload of random links for companies that folks had no personal experience with and/or information gleaned from search results - or with vendors stopping by to self-promote and post links to their own websites to sell product if you catch my drift.

I'm also posting to this thread to bump it up to remind everyone that if you haven't ordered garlic yet, time is running out. Several sources are already out of stock at this point on many of the more sought after varieties.

[Granite26]

WeGrowGarlic is open for orders. I was checking daily but seemed to miss the start. Some varieties already sold out.

[tjg911]

WGG has changed their selling methodology. Instead of being able to buy by the bulb they now sell 5 bulbs in a mesh bag that range from 1.5" to 2.5" or 3". karen is a great person but this is a huge problem for someone looking for seed, you want to plant the largest cloves for the largest bulbs. i don't have any use for, especially when i'm paying for it, bulbs that are 1.5" or 1.75" when they can be 2.5" or 3". they are a great company but this was a show stopper for me. karen recommended someone she trusts and knows and directed me to him. i'm not mentioning who because this will be my 1st order from him but he is highly recommended and in several emails he seems to be a good source that will sell by the bulb and will sell large bulbs. i'll be placing my order thru him from now on if i need to buy garlic which i normally don't unless i want to try new varieties.

tom

[DiggingDogFarm]

Hmmmmm!!!!!
The varieties that I was interested are already sold out!!!

I intended to up my inventory considerably this year, I guess I'll stick with the organic German Extra Hardy that I can get locally, it's a deal, just $5 a pound.

[Worth1]

Suze what kind of garlic do you recommend for our area?
I am leaning toward the creole garlic.

Is it too late?

Worth

[Suze]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Suze what kind of garlic do you recommend for our area?
I am leaning toward the creole garlic.

Is it too late?

Worth, I think you're going to find that Filaree and Gourmet Garlic Garden are pretty much sold out of Creoles for the year, but it wouldn't hurt to look. Edit - I just noticed that We Grow Garlic had a few Creole offerings this year (which I found interesting considering they are in WI), but it looks like they are sold out too.

Other varieties (not creole type) that have done rather well for me the last couple of years include Inchelium Red, Early Red Italian, Sicilian Artichoke, Broadleaf Czech, Siberian, Bogatyr, Estonian Red. A few of those might be easier to find this late in the year as opposed to creoles.

Those all seem able to mature here before the rather early onset of heat in our area starts causing the leaves to die back.

And on the Creoles, I know they are frequently suggested for warmer zones, and when they are good they are very good indeed. But they can sometimes be fiddly to grow, especially with the strange weather here the last couple of years - harsh, dry winters + extremely early onset of heat.

[tjg911]

since it's ok i'll post the info for whom i am buying from this year. his name is lee taylor and you can send him an email at lee_1_1_1@hotmail.com or mail him at

Lee Taylor
300 E 11th St.
Gibbon, MN 55335

he does not have a website now but he sent me a spreadsheet of what he is growing. he lists 203 varieties but some probably are not for sale yet until he builds up his stock.

he does mention that he has creole too which surprised me as i thought that was only grown in the deep south.

tom

[eddie46]

Looking for a good source for Elephant Garlic.

Ed

[Suze]

Originally Posted by eddie46

Looking for a good source for Elephant Garlic.

Ed, I see that Gourmet Garlic Gardens still has it - or, more specifically, a vendor they list/sponsor on their webpage still has it for sale (as of 2011.09.01). Keep in mind that a few days from now that may not be the case. At this point, many vendors are out of (or very quickly running out of) most of their stock. So if you go to the below link, see that Elephant Garlic is still in stock, and you really want it, I would suggest you go ahead and place your order asap.

http://www.gourmetgarlicgardens.com/...elephantgarlic

[Elizabeth]

I got mine yesterday from Gourmet Garlic - Forever Yong Farm.

I got the Warm Winter Sampler and they are large, lovely, firm, clean, blemish free. I have to wait to plant them, but I am quite pleased with the quality.

I ordered them Aug 3.

My sampler (1 or 2 bulbs depending on size) includes:
Shilla
Red Toch
Sonoran
Maiskij
Ajo Rojo

This is going to be fun - I haven't tried growing garlic for a number of years - the varieties out there that I could buy just never quite worked out here in San Diego. I love that I can try 5 different ones grown by someone in Southern Arizona rather than Northern California, Idaho or Oregon or some place else way north and cooler.