Garlic – Yum!
’Tis the season to think about planting garlic! Garlic is planted in most areas in the fall and harvested in the late spring or early summer. Garlic growing is very rewarding, it requires some attention at harvesting time, but the flavors of the different types of garlic and the joy of cooking with them far outweigh the effort. This blog topic will be in two parts. In the first part, I will discuss garlic in general. In the second part, I will explain growing, harvesting, and storing techniques.
When my garden was in the dream stage, I did not imagine it with a garlic crop. But, one day in the grocery store, as I was looking at garlic, I noticed the country of origin – China. I thought, why in the world would a fertile country like the United States import a vegetable from thousands of miles away? The actual distance that garlic had to travel, as I learned, was 20,520 nautical miles from Shanghai to Seattle, Washington. That’s a 15 – 16 day trip at sea before it reaches our port and is then transported to your local grocery store. Further research showed that a container ship could use 63,000 gallons of marine fuel per day.
This thought process and information set me to investigate what it would take to plant garlic in my garden. Growing it in my back yard would mean little transport costs, except for having garlic bulbs mailed to me for planting, very little fuel use, and ultimately growing the crop in my own herbicide-free, pesticide-free soil. Well, I was excited to get started with this crop. Then, I started reading about planting techniques and the different types of garlic to determine what varieties would be suitable for my climate. In the end, what I wasn’t prepared for was how good my home-grown garlic tasted and what a fun crop it was to grow.
Garlic has a very interesting history. Scientists have studied the genetics of garlic and can trace its origins back to Central Asia, along trade routes of the ancient world. Garlic, onions, and others in the allium family are among the most ancient of cultivated crops. Garlic has long been thought to have positive health benefits, but rigorous scientific studies are generally inconclusive. Nevertheless, garlic is a wonderful addition to many foods.
The chemical, Allicin is responsible for garlic’s pungency and flavor, but it is not found in an unchopped clove. Allicin is created when the cell walls of the garlic clove are broken up by slicing, crushing, chopping, or chewing, releasing the enzyme Allinase, which, in turn, interacts with Alliin in the cell to produce Allicin.
Garlic is propagated from other garlic cloves. The grocery store varieties should not be used for planting because you do not know what chemicals have been used to maintain the freshness, which might also inhibit growth after being planted. Generally, only one species is used for large-scale production. For garlic variety and types that will grow in your geographic area, it is best to purchase garlic to plant from specialty growers or from growers at local farmers’ markets. If you order from a specialty grower for delivery by mail, it is best to order in the spring for fall delivery and planting. The choice of what garlic(s) to grow depends on your climate; what grows in the Pacific Northwest is not what grows on the Gulf Coast, for example. So, do a little research and speak with the growers.
There are two main types of garlic – hard-neck and soft-neck. The hard-necks produce “scapes” (flowers), which should be removed to allow the plant’s energy to go back into the bulb. Scapes are edible and have a nice garlic taste. They are lovely in salads. The hard-neck also forms a central fibrous cord around which the garlic cloves form. The soft-necks generally produce more cloves.
The following is a brief overview of the types of garlic available for your garden and will be helpful to you in choosing the plants to grow for your area.
For the South, with hot/humid climates:
- Turbans – a very early harvest variety, when only 1 or 2 leaves turn brown, short storage of about 4 months, so use first.
- Creoles – fine flavor, harvested mid-season, long storage 10 -12 months.
- Asiatics – also early harvest when 1 or 2 leaves have turned brown, short storage of 4 months, hard-neck.
For wide climate range:
- Artichokes – probably the easiest to grow, tolerate a wide range of climates, early maturing, storage 10 months, soft-neck.
- Silverskins – suitable for wet or mild climates as well as cold ones, late maturity, stores 10 – 12 months, soft-neck.
Cold/long winters: these are all hard-necks
- Rocamboles – excellent flavor, need cold winter, late maturity, 4-6 month storage.
- Purple Stripes – genetically the basal group for all garlics, tasty, mid-season harvest, 4-6 months storage.
- Glazed Purple Stripes – mid-season harvest, 4-6 month storage.
- Marbled Purple Stripes – early harvest, cool-cold winters, 4-6 month storage.
- Porcelains – large cloves, late maturity, 6-month storage.
The following are two references that might be very helpful to you:
- “The Complete Book of Garlic, A Guide for Gardeners, Growers, and Serious Cooks,” by Ted Jordan Meredith, Timber Press, 2008.
- “Growing Great Garlic,” by Ron Engeland, Filaree Garlic Farm, 1991.
I hope this blog has tempted your appetite for growing garlic and learning to enjoy the tastes of different garlic varieties. The second portion of the blog will cover the details about planting, harvesting, curing, and storing garlic.
Happy gardening, cooking, and eating from my table to yours!
