Organic Garlic Varieties - Hardneck and Softneck Garlics

Not all garlic is alike, in fact there are hundreds of varieties to choose from, and Hardneck garlics are on their way to the top. 

Garlic is split into two major categories: Hardneck garlic and softneck garlic. Softneck garlics are most common and commercially grown in warmer climates like California, Mexico and China. They are widely known and are usually what you will find at your local supermarket. When people think of garlic it is often a softneck. They are beautiful in their own way, particularly in braids. 

Hardneck garlics are unique. They cannot be grown commercially and get their name through the hard wood like stem that comes from the top of the bulb. Hardneck garlic also produces a scape which displays the flower at it’s culmination. This is exclusive to hardneck varieties. Hardneck garlic also produces flavors that are much bolder and have amazing character. The cloves are often very huge. These types are often sought after by gourmet chefs.

There are many categories of Hardneck garlics, here are some of my favorites: Rocamboles, Porcelains, Standard Purple Stripe, and Marbled Purple Stripe.

Rocambole Hardneck garlics have a unique amazing flavor, slightly weaker in heat but excellent flavor. They have very large cloves with brown clove skins and rounded tops and peal easily In fact very easily. The easy peeling cloves give great convenience but due to the loose wrappers there storage is very short you don’t see quality Rocamboles past December. They are a great example of a true hardneck garlic.

Porcelains are very stunning as well, they have huge cloves with an average of four cloves per bulb. These have been known to have the highest Allicin content, which gives the highest medicinal properties. Their bulb wrappers are usually a gorgeous white, hence the name porcelains, they are also the tallest plant, at full maturity you can have the top of the bulbil head reach seven feet tall. Everyone should have Porcelains in their garden, absolutely amazing.

Standard Purple Stripes, these are probably the most beautiful hardneck garlics around. Their flavor is absolutely amazing, their bulb wrappers are deep purples, and fantastically productive. They have an average of eight to ten cloves per bulb making your own reseeding very cost effective. They have great storage life, and are a must in everybody’s garden.

Marbled Purple Stripes should begin their conversation with… Does size matter? If so Marbled Purple Stripes are your winner. Marbled purple stripes can have impressive size reaching well over three inches in diameter very consistently. They are known by their sheer power, their flavor is very popular and packs a punch that anyone who indulges will remember.

Hardnecks will soon be at the top of everyone list, once you have experienced their beauty and flavor the ordinary softneck will leave you disappointed and bored.

Find more information to http://www.growinggarlic.ca/garlic-varieties/

When to Plant Garlic - Planting garlic is easy

Planting garlic is one of the most satisfying vegetables that anyone can grow. And I have great news everyone, garlic planting is just around the corner and many fantastic varieties are waiting for you to enjoy, so… when to plant garlic? Garlic is a bulb and it is best planted in fall. 

When to plant garlic will depend upon where you live but what you are looking for is good root development before the ground freezes and no sprouting above the surface. Generally here in British Columbia Canada at our Garlic Farm. We start planting garlic the last week of September and finish the second week of October. Ideally you would want to plant around the full moon. This may be a wives tale but hey everything helps. 

When to plant garlic if you live somewhere warmer of course all depends but the same rules apply, don’t plant so late that your garlic roots can’t get established before Mr. Cold winter settles in but don’t plant so soon. That your garlic starts to pop out of the ground and it gets frozen and stunted.   

If you live somewhere warmer you may want to plant a softneck garlic. Softneck garlic performs very well in warm climates while hardneck garlic needs a cold winter to have proper cloving.

If you live somewhere cold don’t fret, You can grow awesome garlic far better than any of our Southern Friends. Hardneck varieties can handle very cold winters.

Just as important as the question of when to plant garlic is how to plant garlic. Plant garlic 3 inches deep with 4-6 inch spacing.  In raised beds plant garlic in well-drained soil. One of the nice things about garlic is the fall planting you get to put it too bed before winter comes and then you forget about it. Then early spring it comes up pretty well before anything else. It is really exciting there are so many fantastic varieties of garlic to choose from. Find something heritage and gourmet garlic varieties online. Don’t settle for your ordinary garlic from the store no longer. Garlic makes great gifts and everybody loves it. You probably even have a Garlic Festival in your area. They are becoming increasingly popular. How often do you hear of Cucumber festival? You don’t but you hear of Garlic Festivals all the time. Because people love it and its one of those fantastic vegetable that goes in just about every dish. 

Find more information to http://www.growinggarlic.ca/

Gardening Tips : How to Plant Garlic Seeds

Have you ever felt the infinite potential and amazing power when you hold a seed in your hand? It is a pretty amazing feeling. With the increasing demands for more food for lower prices, farming practices have changed over the years and change doesn’t always mean progress. 

Many of today’s seeds are hybrids and don’t breed true so if you wanted to save your own seed to grow in your own garden you’re not going to get the same results. I often find this a scary thought. And it gets even worse than that. Many of today’s produce doesn’t even produce seed, for example: the seedless watermelon. Often the seeds from produce in the store are sterile and wouldn’t even make viable plants if you saved seed from the produce you buy from your local grocery store. 

Some plants have lost their ability to even flower. Garlic has two major categories HardneckGarlic and Softneck Garlic. The Hardneck means that it is sending up a flower stock called a garlic scape. This stock turns hard like wood with maturity and produces a flower head up top which contains garlic seed.  

The common technique for Garlic is to break a bulb into individual cloves and plant the cloves as the garlic seed. This is the quickest way to get a good harvest of garlic. Garlic grown from cloves mature to a good size the first year you plant and harvest them.  

The lesser known way of planting garlic seed is from the garlic bulbil on top of the scape.  A garlic bulbil head is a great option if you want a lot of garlic for a little price and can afford to wait a couple of years. Bulbils on Garlic scapes have many seeds and can usually be purchased inexpensively. Garlic scapes are also a great way to help your garlic adjust to it’s new home. 

However, it will take 2 to 3 years for your abundant garlic to mature to full size. The first year the garlic is very small and will need to be harvested and replanted. The second year you may have some mature to full size or you may may need to harvest and replant again. 

Now some good news. No matter what garlic seed you choose to use, cloves or bulbils from garlic scapes, you will always have great garlic to eat! Most people know and love to eat the garlic cloves but there are so many other stages of life that garlic that can be enjoyed.  First year planted garlic scapes look like a bed of chives and can be eaten as such. The taste is very fresh with an infusion of garlic flavor.

Happy planting!!

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Gardening Tips: How to Plant Organic Garlic

Organic farming techniques have become increasingly popular as people become more aware of where their food is coming from. And consistently dissatisfied with the flavor and richness in quality. 

Organic Garlic, is one of the many vegetables being produced with excellent if not better results than conventional / modern methods of farming. Organic garlic has such boldness of flavor and supreme quality. Because garlic is such a hearty plant pesticides are very unnecessary. Growing garlic does not take any special techniques different from any good gardening practices. Keeping it weed free and not over watering will give you fantastic results.

Organic Garlic in grocery stores is often hard to find. There is a surprisingly amount of garlic coming from China. Which is unfortunate, particularly for Canadians because Canada grows superior garlic. Some of the deep character comes from cold winters of which Canada has plenty.

As with most if not all food, the best food you grow yourself. Or find at your local farmers market, where you know it is fresh and was ripened naturally. To grow organic garlic yourself you need to first find garlic seed, or seed garlic as it is often called. There are many heritage and gourmet varieties that you can order online. One of the luxuries of growing your own food is choosing what food you have, in the stores we are always dealt shorthanded with very few varieties to choose from. People think garlic is just garlic, well that like saying a car is a car or a dog is a dog not considering the many differences and qualities of each variety. Consider for a moment a Geo Metro and a BMW or a Chihuahua and a Great Dane. Not quite the same anymore are they.

Organic Garlicis much the same it has many differences from the boldness of Marbled Purple Stripes, to the smoothness of the Rocamboles. There are many groups of garlic and they are very much in deed different. 

Growing Organic Garlic only requires attention to two major problems weeds and moisture. Moisture is by far the most dangerous, Weeds will inhibit large growth but you will still have nice garlic. While moisture on the other hand can destroy your garlic, garlic is susceptible to mold and mildew. Well drained soils and a good curing practices allow for virtually no problems. 

The only other reason while someone may want to not grow organically is for Fertilizer. Really does size matter? Well I will let you answer that for yourself. Please use wise practices and know that we are only borrowing the earth from our children and our children’s children. The earth will provide all we need let us take care of her and stop trying to cheat ourselves with instant gratification.

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