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Old October 5, 2011   #1
OneDahlia
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Default Ordering garlic for the first time -- questions

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. 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.

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.

I don't have much of a sense yet of the differences among varieties that are out there. The garlic I got locally is a bit more flavorful than grocery-store garlic cooked, but didn't really taste very different to me. 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), something with bigger cloves than the ones I got locally, something that will store for a year, and something that is mild/sweet for eating raw (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.

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!
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Old October 5, 2011   #2
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$25 per pound!!!

The most I ever paid online was $12-14/lb, and I just bought 115 beautiful large bulbs at at the Garlic Festival in NY for an average of $8.50/lb. These included German White, German Red, Spanish Roja, and Music.

I suggest you search for any garlic festivals or gatherings in your area, or try more farmer's markets, but you'll have to hurry. This way you can select just the bulbs you want (large cloves from large bulbs yield larger garlic). There is a garlic festival in Amherst VA on Oct 8-9 (see: http://www.rebecwinery.com/) Also, anyone selling 1/4 pound of a variety is probably going to ship two bulbs at 1/8 pound each. These are pretty small for seed IMO, but would work.

The only variety I know of that will store for a full year is the Silverskins, but these have many small cloves that are difficult to peel (tight skins equals long storage). For large cloves that are easy to peel, try Porcelains and Rocamboles - very flavorful but only store until maybe January or February at best. You can solve the storage issue but chopping and freezing the remaining garlic in November or December. I chop about six bulbs per one quart ziplock bag, flatten the bag to a 1/4" layer, sqeezing out the air, and stack these "books" of garlic in the freezer. To use, just unzip the bag, break off a chunk, and zip it back up. Very convenient.

Porcelains and Rocamboles usually average about six cloves per bulb, so if you use about a bulb/week you will need about 50-60 plants or about 10 bulbs. This equals three 10' rows that are 12" apart with the garlic plants spaced 6" apart in the rows (20 plants/row).

Hope this helps!

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Old October 5, 2011   #3
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The most important consideration buying garlic, whether from farmers markets, online, or even big catalog companies, is being sure the bulbs are not infested with stem and bloat nematodes. Once established in your soil you will never be able to plant garlic there again. There are widespread infections I know of personally in New York and Maine, and there was a just intercepted shipment of seed garlic from a company in Ontario shipping to the US that was found infested.

Google the disease and images and become familiar with the symptoms. Then, I would find a local source where you can inspect the bulbs when you buy them to make sure there is no infection.
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Old October 5, 2011   #4
OneDahlia
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Oh my! Barkeater, thank you for the advice on the nematodes! Going to go look them up and check my bulbs.

And Tom, thanks so much for that very helpful information, especially on planting and storing the garlic. I'm also glad to know I'm not crazy to think that price is indeed high. I gulped when I saw those, but from the sites I looked at, that seemed to be about the going price. Even the single varieties on the sites I saw were listed at about $12 for a half pound unless you're buying bulk.

I'll look around some more locally. Will be great if I can find a nearby festival (Amherst is 3 hours away, unfortunately), but most likely I'll be shopping at farmer's markets. Are there any simple ways to tell what kind of garlic you're looking at? (Generally speaking -- I don't mean specific varieties.)
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Old October 5, 2011   #5
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You can tell if they are hardnecks or softnecks, but beyond that it gets difficult as so many varieties of garlic look and taste the same, although some are distinctive. Best to ask the seller.

Hardnecks will have a woody stem and a single ring of fat cloves around the stem. Softnecks are usually artichoke types which have multiple layers of cloves, many of which are small and mis-shapened (is that a word???). Most varieties you see at supermarkets are softneck artichoke types, and most are from China. Personally I buy only hardnecks because I prefer large, fat, easy to peel cloves.

The Amherst festival is also a WINE festival, so it may be worth spending a day!

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Old October 5, 2011   #6
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you asked a lot of good questions so i want to reply in your quoted post in red.

first however, tom nj knows his garlic but i would dispute the artichoke comment

Quote:
Softnecks are usually artichoke types which have multiple layers of cloves, many of which are small and mis-shapened (is that a word???). Most varieties you see at supermarkets are softneck artichoke types, and most are from China.
.

artichoke types are indeed softnecks but around here grocery store garlic is silverskin, i never saw an artichoke in the store. and he is correct a lot of garlic is now coming from china where it used to be silverskins from california. also artichokes have an outer ring of larger cloves and then an inner core of smaller cloves but not too many a total of 12-20 cloves unlike sliverskins which are a mass of smaller cloves and they get smaller as you get deeper into the bulb often having 30-40 cloves. and tom is correct, silverskins are a complete pita to peel if not nearly impossible so i just crush them in a garlic press. some silverskins can store a year tho some artichokes can get close to that. i would avoid silverskins due to their tiny cloves and difficulty in peeling. also silverskins are usually very hot but with little garlic flavor but there are many different silverskin varieties so some may have better flavor than others and shorter storage than other silverskins.


Quote:
Originally Posted by 1dahlia4me View Post
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.
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Old October 5, 2011   #7
OneDahlia
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Tom, no wine for me, lol, and misshapen is a word.

Tjg, thank you so much for the very thorough response. That was extremely helpful!
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Old October 7, 2011   #8
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i forgot to add that while my russian red (and sadly all the new varieties i grew this year) was a less than expected harvest re taste, bulb quality and size, once i have gotten thru the bad bulbs and into the ones that look healthy it seems to be a good tasting variety. it is a favorite of tom_nj and for that reason i ordered new stock for this fall. they are large bulbs with large cloves that are rock hard and look to be excellent stock for planting vs the russian red and all the other new varieties i got last summer. so i may well add that to my list of varieties i'll grow in the future assuming it does well and i have no reason to think otherwise based upon the quality of the bulbs and my past experience growing garlic.
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