00:00:00
If you have intentions of growing garlic for next year,
00:00:02
now is the time to be ordering your seed garlic.
00:00:06
Garlic needs about six months in the ground to get to maturity,
00:00:09
so here in the northern hemisphere we may be planting
00:00:12
our garlic as early as mid-september in some areas.
00:00:15
With the plethora of catalogs and websites and garden centers
00:00:19
offering garlic to gardeners, how do you know what variety of
00:00:22
garlic to choose? And should you be choosing hard
00:00:25
neck or soft neck or that look alike?
00:00:28
Elephant garlic. Today on Just Grow Something,
00:00:31
we're going to figure it out. We'll talk about the differences
00:00:33
between the types of garlic and what might make you want to
00:00:36
choose one variety over another, whether it's to do with flavor
00:00:40
or storage, disease resistance, or something else entirely.
00:00:44
Let's dig in. Hey, I'm Karen, I started
00:00:47
gardening in a small corner of my suburban backyard and now 18
00:00:50
years later, I've got a degree in horticulture and operate a 40
00:00:53
acre market farm. I believe there is power in food
00:00:57
and that everyone should know how to grow at least a little
00:00:59
bit of their own. On this podcast, I share
00:01:02
evidence based techniques to help you plant, grow, harvest
00:01:05
and store all your family's favorites.
00:01:07
Consider me your friend in the garden.
00:01:09
So grab your garden journal and a cup of coffee and get ready to
00:01:12
just grow something. Quick shout out to those of you
00:01:24
who have emailed me or messaged me about the upcoming changes
00:01:27
Patreon is making to subscriptions from within their
00:01:31
Apple Store app. In short, if you're not aware,
00:01:34
Patreon is going to begin paying a 30% Commission on their
00:01:39
Commission to Apple, which is required by Apple for in app
00:01:44
purchases in order to remain in their App Store.
00:01:47
Which means the creators are being charged for it.
00:01:50
Which means you are charged for it if you opt to support this
00:01:54
show through a monthly commitment through the Patreon
00:01:57
app from within the Apple App Store after November.
00:02:01
So this does not apply if you're already subscribing.
00:02:04
It doesn't apply if you subscribe from the Patreon
00:02:07
website or if you subscribe from the Android App Store.
00:02:10
But it was enough of a concern for some of you saying the
00:02:15
reason that you've not joined the Patreon page is because you
00:02:17
want more of the money to go toward the show or you just
00:02:21
wanted to do like a one time support thing.
00:02:24
Like, hey, thanks for the great episode.
00:02:26
You know, here's a couple bucks. So first of all, I really,
00:02:29
really do appreciate those of you who want to support the show
00:02:33
monetarily, whether that's through merch or by supporting
00:02:36
advertisers or affiliates or whatever.
00:02:38
And I'm very mindful of the fact that not everybody wants more
00:02:41
stuff. So I've added a little link at
00:02:44
the bottom of the website that looks like a little to go cup of
00:02:49
coffee and that allows you to buy me a coffee or three or four
00:02:53
as a one time. Thanks for the help or thanks
00:02:57
for the content sort of support. There is also a full blown Buy
00:03:02
Me a Coffee page. Also it's Buy Me a
00:03:04
coffee.com/just Grow Something and that does give you the same
00:03:08
options as on Patreon but at a different platform.
00:03:11
So I will link to both of those support platforms in the show
00:03:15
notes of this episode if you are interested.
00:03:17
So again, thank you to those of you who are concerned about
00:03:20
this. Shout out to Mia for becoming my
00:03:23
most recent patron over on Patreon.
00:03:25
Big thanks to those of you who are already supporting, and if
00:03:28
supporting monetarily is not within your means, then the
00:03:33
ratings, the reviews, the shares and the views all help support
00:03:37
this show. And I really do truly appreciate
00:03:40
each and everyone of you. So let's talk garlic.
00:03:48
There are over 600 different varieties of garlic in the
00:03:53
world. So if you've felt a little
00:03:54
overwhelmed looking at the choices, you have a very good
00:03:57
reason to feel that way. Let's talk about the differences
00:04:00
in the types so that you can narrow your choices down a
00:04:04
little bit. And the first thing that we
00:04:06
would be concerned with when choosing a type would be climate
00:04:09
suitability. So the two main different types
00:04:14
of garlic are hard neck and soft neck, right?
00:04:17
So the most obvious difference between hard neck and soft neck
00:04:20
garlic is the way they look and the way they sort of grow.
00:04:24
Hard neck garlic has that long flowering stem growing through
00:04:29
the center of the bulb and this is what we call the scape.
00:04:33
Now generally we remove the scape from the bulb because we
00:04:37
want to force energy into the bulb growth rather than allowing
00:04:40
it to flour. These scapes are edible.
00:04:43
We use them just like a chive or a green onion, but one that has
00:04:46
a really strong garlicky kick. Garlicscape pesto is like one of
00:04:51
my favorite spring treats. But if you were to leave that
00:04:54
scape intact, it will produce a flower that is an humble, so
00:05:00
it's a terminal pot at the very end of that scape, and that
00:05:03
actually produces little bulbules.
00:05:05
So those bulbules can actually be removed from the scape when
00:05:09
they're mature, and then they're planted in the same way as we do
00:05:13
cloves. But the difference is that those
00:05:16
would actually need at least two seasons worth of growth, usually
00:05:21
3, before they actually produce a differentiated bulb like what
00:05:25
we're used to in regular garlic. Now.
00:05:27
The other marked difference in hard neck garlic is the actual
00:05:33
bulb itself that surrounds the scape.
00:05:36
It is actually only in hard neck.
00:05:39
It's one single layer of pretty consistently shaped cloves, so
00:05:44
that the number of cloves actually depends on the variety
00:05:48
that you're growing the cultivar, but it tends to be
00:05:50
between 4:00 and 12:00. Soft neck varieties, on the
00:05:54
other hand, have a much higher number of cloves, which means
00:05:59
they have a larger bulb and these are the types that you
00:06:02
usually see in the grocery store.
00:06:03
So soft neck varieties usually produce between 10 and 20 cloves
00:06:07
per per bulb, sometimes even more than that.
00:06:11
And if you look at them side by side with the hard neck, the
00:06:13
soft neck are more irregular in shape.
00:06:16
And that is because where the hard neck variety grows just one
00:06:20
layer around the center, a soft neck actually has two or more
00:06:25
concentric layers of those cloves, each individually
00:06:31
wrapped in their own little skin.
00:06:33
So it means that they kind of look a little bit more wonky or
00:06:37
or less uniform in shape compared to the hard neck.
00:06:40
Now the fact that they grow more cloves is likely a reproductive
00:06:46
compensation because soft necks do not usually produce escape
00:06:52
like the hard necks, so they're not going to flower and produce
00:06:55
those little bulbules. So if there's less chance of
00:06:59
them flowering, then that means they need to produce more
00:07:01
clothes. That's just an evolutionary
00:07:02
trait, honestly. Generally speaking, hard neck
00:07:07
varieties tend to grow better in areas with more severe winters.
00:07:13
So this is where we start to make our decisions based on
00:07:16
climate suitability, right? Hard neck garlic requires a
00:07:20
greater period of vernalization so that that prolonged period of
00:07:24
cooler weather than soft neck varieties do so.
00:07:29
And then the opposite of that, soft necks tend to perform
00:07:32
better in areas where the winters are more mild.
00:07:35
So where I am, which is now zone 6 BI can grow both hard neck and
00:07:42
soft neck. And I usually do grow both
00:07:44
because sometimes we have really brutal winters and so the hard
00:07:49
neck does way better. But then some years we have
00:07:53
really, really mild winters and my soft neck will totally
00:07:57
outperform my hard neck. So I just grow both to make sure
00:08:01
that I'm kind of getting the best of both worlds.
00:08:03
And, and where I am, that's absolutely possible.
00:08:06
If you are in zones, usually we say USDA zones 3 through 7, you
00:08:13
are better suited for hard neck garlic, right?
00:08:17
So that's that's going to be sort of your go to and then if
00:08:21
you're kind of on the border there, you know, six and seven,
00:08:26
you can absolutely also grow soft neck alongside that.
00:08:30
And just depending on how your winter goes, see which one does
00:08:33
better. If you are in the milder
00:08:35
climates, that's USDA zones like 8 through 11 soft necks are
00:08:39
going to tend to do better for you.
00:08:42
They're better in those warmer regions.
00:08:43
Again, if you're on the border, like if you're in zone 8, you
00:08:47
might try a hard neck. You just might have to do sort
00:08:52
of a forced fertilization at that point, meaning that you
00:08:54
would want to store your hard neck garlic in the refrigerator
00:08:58
for a little bit before you plant it and plant it much later
00:09:02
in the year so that it's closer to that colder time of the year.
00:09:05
But definitely if your zones 8 through 11 soft neck is going to
00:09:08
be the one that you prefer. Now there is 1/3 garlic and I'm
00:09:14
doing air bunnies there and that is elephant garlic.
00:09:17
It is not a true garlic. It is very closely related.
00:09:21
It's a cousin to the leek actually.
00:09:23
So it does produce really large bulbs, but those bulbs are
00:09:28
definitely more mild. So it's more of an oniony flavor
00:09:31
with a hint of garlic rather than being, you know, garlicky
00:09:36
with with a softer finish. So if you are somebody who
00:09:39
prefers a less intense garlic flavor, then elephant garlic
00:09:44
might be the one that you choose.
00:09:47
So besides climate, why would we want to choose one type over the
00:09:54
other? So hard neck garlic cultivars
00:09:57
tend to have a much more complex flavor profile than the soft
00:10:02
neck ones. They are richer, they're
00:10:04
spicier, they are just more garlicky.
00:10:08
The hard neck garlics also tend to have larger individual clove
00:10:15
size. So if we think about the way
00:10:17
they grow, those hard neck cultivars just have the one
00:10:21
concentric ring around the center of that scape, and they
00:10:24
are all fairly uniform. There's fewer of them, but they
00:10:28
are larger. They also have a thicker skin
00:10:30
which makes them easier to peel. Soft neck varieties, on the
00:10:33
other hand, tend to taste a little bit more mild.
00:10:36
Although I have had some really good soft neck varieties and
00:10:39
they are really good, just kind of drizzled with olive oil and
00:10:42
roasted on the grill. Or they're really good for like
00:10:45
roasting in the oven. You just take the entire thing
00:10:48
and cut the top off and throw it in the oven and dry it or roast
00:10:52
it that way. Soft neck are also really good
00:10:54
for drying into garlic powder and they are the most often used
00:11:00
varieties for processed garlic products.
00:11:02
So if you're eating something from the store, 9 times out of
00:11:07
10 it's going to be a soft neck variety.
00:11:10
The cloves of the soft neck types are a little bit more
00:11:14
difficult to peel because A, they've got that more irregular
00:11:17
shape and B, the skins around them are super, super tight and
00:11:22
very, very thin. So they're difficult to get
00:11:25
apart. But this gives them an advantage
00:11:28
in storage, so we'll talk about that here in a minute.
00:11:33
So different garlic varieties offer distinct flavors from mild
00:11:38
and sweet to very hot and very pungent.
00:11:41
Your hard neck varieties tend to have that more robust, often
00:11:45
spicy flavor. The soft neck varieties are
00:11:48
usually more mild and some of them actually have a nice sweet
00:11:52
little after taste, which incidentally is what my magic
00:11:56
mind shots also have. They have a nice sweet after
00:12:00
taste. I mean if you think about it,
00:12:02
look, not only does that little green shot give me sustained
00:12:04
energy throughout my day, but it's doing it by using all
00:12:08
natural science backed ingredients.
00:12:11
But some of those ingredients usually have a very strong
00:12:13
flavor. You're talking lion's mane and
00:12:15
Cordyceps, which are mushrooms and chlorophyllin, very green
00:12:19
ashwagandha, all kinds of anti inflammatories like turmeric,
00:12:23
which also has a really good strong flavor to it.
00:12:28
And I love all of these things and all the mix of them for my
00:12:31
endurance sports, but also for working out on the farm.
00:12:34
The thing is that they have added just a hint of organic
00:12:39
agave to sweeten it up just enough that it doesn't taste
00:12:43
like green plants and mushrooms and turmeric, which means you're
00:12:48
not forcing yourself to take it. It's an enjoyable experience.
00:12:51
So you're much more likely to take it alongside your morning
00:12:53
coffee or your tea. And that makes it a really good
00:12:56
habit to start your day with. And if I sound energized, that
00:13:00
is because I had my Magic mind right alongside my second cup of
00:13:04
coffee this morning. So you can get this sort of
00:13:07
energy that I have. You can also save yourself some
00:13:10
serious coin on a subscription or a 20% off a one time purchase
00:13:13
by going to magicmind.com/just Grow Something and using code.
00:13:17
Just Grow Something 20 at checkout and try it for
00:13:21
yourself. magicmind.com/just Grow something with code.
00:13:25
Just grow Something 20 now I store my magic mind bottles in
00:13:31
our drink fridge in our kitchen. And you need to know how long
00:13:35
you want to store your garlic for because that is the next
00:13:38
consideration for which variety you want to choose and that is
00:13:41
your storage needs. So soft neck garlic typically
00:13:45
stores for about 6 to 12 months. So a year.
00:13:50
You can hold on to this after harvest once you have cured it.
00:13:52
And that is because those skins are so thin, but they are so
00:13:57
tight around the soft neck garlic cloves.
00:13:59
Your hard neck garlic generally only stores for about 3 to six
00:14:04
months and you will know that something has gone wrong or
00:14:10
you've been storing them for too long.
00:14:11
Because the hard neck garlic varieties, I have stored them
00:14:14
and I have tended to sometimes store them a little bit longer
00:14:16
than I was supposed to. And I kind of saw that they were
00:14:19
sitting there and they looked just fine, so I just left them.
00:14:22
When I got back to them finally, and it was probably a good six
00:14:26
or eight months later, I went to go and grab them and I realized
00:14:29
that they had basically just sort of disintegrated to dust
00:14:33
within their little paper shells.
00:14:35
So it looked like a solid head of garlic, but there was
00:14:37
literally nothing in there. Like you squished it and it was
00:14:40
like poof, nothing was there. I have not had that problem with
00:14:43
the soft neck garlic. The other thing too, is that
00:14:45
soft neck garlic is the one that you can braid so hard neck
00:14:51
doesn't, you know, because it has that hardscape in there.
00:14:54
First of all, it doesn't tend to braid as easily, even if you're
00:14:58
cutting that scape completely off.
00:15:00
And the softneck does this beautifully.
00:15:04
And so this is one way that you can store them.
00:15:06
You can actually just weave a braid together and hang them up
00:15:09
and let them store and then just clip them to use them
00:15:12
periodically. But if you're looking to
00:15:17
dehydrate garlic and turn it into a powder, or if you want to
00:15:23
just dice it up, one of the things that I will technically
00:15:25
do is if I will dice it up in my food processor and then I will
00:15:29
add it to a jar, a Mason jar, and then cover it with olive oil
00:15:33
and stick it in the back of my fridge.
00:15:34
And that way anytime I need basically one clove of garlic, I
00:15:38
just take a half a teaspoon of that mixture and toss it into
00:15:41
whatever it is that I'm using. You can dehydrate them and you
00:15:43
can grind them and all that kinds of thing.
00:15:45
At that point, which one you choose is entirely up to you.
00:15:50
Like I said, the soft neck is a little bit milder.
00:15:53
And if you're used to like store bought garlic powder, the soft
00:15:59
neck is what you're probably going to use.
00:16:00
The hard neck is more pungent and it that comes through
00:16:03
definitely when you are processing it.
00:16:06
So if you want that stronger kick and you want the kind of
00:16:09
higher oil content, then go for the hard neck garlic.
00:16:12
Or again, if it's possible in your area, do both and then you
00:16:15
can decide from there. And then another reason that you
00:16:19
might choose one variety or another would be for disease
00:16:22
resistance. So if you have had problems in
00:16:25
the past with anything in your your garden that is concerned
00:16:30
with white rot or Fuserium wilt or any kind of like root rot
00:16:34
nematodes, there are garlic varieties that have been bred to
00:16:39
be resistant to those types of things that are common in
00:16:43
garlic. So check with your local
00:16:45
Extension Service for recommendations on disease
00:16:48
resistant varieties that are going to be suitable to your
00:16:51
region. You can also check with your
00:16:54
Extension Service to see if there are just varieties in
00:16:57
general that they recommend for your area.
00:17:01
I know when I first started growing, I went to the
00:17:04
University of Missouri website, the Extension Service website
00:17:09
and the growing guide there listed very specific varieties
00:17:14
that did well in this area. Now I've checked on that thing
00:17:17
again, that planting guide here recently and they haven't
00:17:21
changed it. So it's still those kind of
00:17:23
older varieties. It doesn't seem like they have
00:17:24
updated it with any of the newer kind of hybrids that have come
00:17:27
out. So you, you might be, you know,
00:17:30
in better luck than I am depending on where you're
00:17:32
growing, you're gardening. But always check with your
00:17:35
Extension Service because they do continually sort of put out
00:17:38
that information and that will help you to figure out what does
00:17:40
really well in your area. The other thing too, don't
00:17:45
forget, is to opt for varieties that are readily available in
00:17:50
your region because they are likely to be better adapted to
00:17:55
your local conditions. So check with the local farmers
00:17:58
markets. If you have people at the
00:18:00
farmers market who grow garlic to sell, find out whether or not
00:18:04
they're selling seed garlic, which means that they have cured
00:18:07
it and it's ready to be put into storage or it's ready to be
00:18:11
planted in the fall and you will be able to plant from those.
00:18:15
Now the only caveat to that is if it's not certified seed
00:18:21
garlic, you are not guaranteed that it is free of any type of a
00:18:25
disease. So get to know your grower is
00:18:29
all I'm saying and make sure that you understand what they're
00:18:31
growing practices are and you can get the straight scoop from
00:18:33
them as to whether or not they have seen any diseases in their
00:18:37
garlic crop before you rely on them food to get your seed
00:18:41
garlic. We have grown it in the past and
00:18:45
just sold it as regular garlic, edible garlic, but I have known
00:18:49
customers who have purchased them from us specifically to
00:18:52
plant and since we've never had any diseases in our garlic,
00:18:56
we've never had a problem with that.
00:18:57
We have also purchased seed garlic from other local growers
00:19:01
when we haven't had a great crop or I want to try a new variety
00:19:04
and I haven't had any problems either, but that's not a
00:19:06
guarantee. So just make sure you know who
00:19:08
you are growing from or look for seed companies that specialize
00:19:13
in bioregionally adapted seeds for your area.
00:19:16
For us, that's the Buffalo Seed Company over on the Kansas side.
00:19:19
They have done a great job of growing varieties that came from
00:19:24
a climate that was very similar to ours and they have grown them
00:19:27
for several years over and over again and collected the seeds
00:19:30
from the best and continue to plant those.
00:19:33
And so everything that I have gotten from them has done
00:19:35
really, really well. And they do carry garlic.
00:19:37
So I again this year, the final thing to think about too is your
00:19:44
planting and harvesting time. Remember that hard neck garlic
00:19:49
needs a longer growing period because it requires that cold
00:19:54
exposure. You have to have that
00:19:55
vernalization in order for them to to form those differentiated
00:19:59
bulbs. Now, typically garlic is planted
00:20:00
in the fall and harvested the following summer.
00:20:03
The soft neck varieties don't tend to need as long and they do
00:20:07
not need that period of vernalization.
00:20:10
So if you're getting going late and maybe you're not hearing
00:20:15
this episode until the spring, or you hadn't really planned on
00:20:18
garlic and you haven't gotten any, you can sometimes plant the
00:20:22
soft neck varieties in spring in the milder climates and be able
00:20:26
to get a crop out of them. Your bulbs won't be quite as
00:20:28
big, but that's OK. You're still getting garlic,
00:20:31
right? But fall planting is generally
00:20:33
recommended. The soft neck varieties just
00:20:35
don't tend to take as long to get to maturity.
00:20:38
So you know you're planting and your harvesting time would be
00:20:41
one final consideration as to which garlic variety you choose.
00:20:48
So what are some go to garlic varieties?
00:20:51
I said there are over 600 of them, but there are definitely
00:20:54
some favorites or someones that are more popular or more
00:20:57
available than others, especially if you were just
00:20:59
getting started in growing growing garlic.
00:21:02
In terms of hard neck garlic chestnut red, this is a purple
00:21:05
striped variety of hard neck. It is actually originated from
00:21:10
like the southern region of the country of Georgia.
00:21:12
It's got very rich sweet tones when they are roasted or
00:21:16
sauteed. Mild heat, but a nice garlicky
00:21:20
flavor. Another one is German extra
00:21:23
Hardy. This one is a really good cold
00:21:26
Hardy hard neck porcelain variety.
00:21:29
Fairly large heads for hard neck garlic.
00:21:32
Usually 5 to 8 cloves that are really good sized.
00:21:36
A little bit of a hint of purple to the coloring.
00:21:39
Sort of a very classic garlic flavor.
00:21:42
And then music is another very popular selection that has come
00:21:46
around here in the last, I don't know, 5 or 10 years.
00:21:49
It actually was derived from the German extra Hardy.
00:21:53
It has much larger cloves, like nice big jumbo cloves, really
00:21:57
good long storage potential and also very, very good for really
00:22:02
cold climates. So the skins are thick, they are
00:22:04
tightly wrapped. They do fantastically well if
00:22:07
you are gardening in a really, really cold climate.
00:22:10
In terms of soft neck in Chilium red, that's kind of the gold
00:22:14
standard, I guess. Very strong producer, mild to
00:22:17
medium pungency, right, but really good flavor.
00:22:21
That one was actually a national soft neck garlic taste test
00:22:25
winner, winner, sorry, and has really good storage potential
00:22:31
like 8 months to a year. So that probably would be the
00:22:34
top choice. And then you've also got
00:22:36
Sicilian, which it kind of has a wide flavor range.
00:22:40
It's like really rich and musky, sometimes downright spicy.
00:22:44
So if you like a really good garlic kick, but you need to
00:22:47
grow a soft neck variety, then Sicilian might be your choice.
00:22:51
There are so many varieties of garlic because there are also
00:22:57
subtypes of garlic, so it's not just hard neck and soft neck.
00:23:01
The hard neck and soft neck are then broken down into artichoke
00:23:05
type, Creole, silver skin, Rochem bowl, porcelain, purple
00:23:09
stripe. They all have different
00:23:12
characteristics and different flavors and different storage
00:23:15
life. So I absolutely encourage you to
00:23:18
try multiple varieties and just try to understand what it is
00:23:22
that you are buying. If you can, look online for
00:23:24
descriptions of the varieties that you're considering to see
00:23:27
if they're a hard neck or a soft neck, what their storage life
00:23:30
is, what their flavor profile is, etcetera.
00:23:33
Before you make a purchase, you'll have a better idea of
00:23:36
what to expect when you harvest. And then of course, just like
00:23:39
anything else, the flavor profile and the way it grows is
00:23:42
also going to depend on your soil composition and what's
00:23:46
going on in your individual garden.
00:23:48
Just be sure, especially if you are planting multiple varieties
00:23:52
at once, that you label your crop really, really well.
00:23:56
I have a variety of garlic that I have been planting over and
00:23:59
over again for several years, but I cannot tell you anything
00:24:04
about it because my garlic's got all mixed up one year in the
00:24:07
field and I have just been saving the biggest bulbs to
00:24:11
replant every season. I know it's a hard neck variety
00:24:14
and it's a purple stripe type, but that's all I can tell you
00:24:18
other than it's got a good flavor and that produces well
00:24:21
for me. So Needless to say, I am now
00:24:23
really good about labeling my garlic.
00:24:27
Until next time, my garlic friends, my garlic friends,
00:24:29
absolutely. You are my garlic friends.
00:24:32
You are also my gardening friends.
00:24:34
So keep on cultivating that dream garden and we'll talk
00:24:36
again soon. For more information about
00:24:38
today's topic and to find all the ways you can get in touch
00:24:41
with me or support the show, go to justgrowsomethingpodcast.com.
00:24:45
Until next time, my gardening friends, keep learning and keep
00:24:48
growing.