Garlic Planting Time is Here!

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I spent the weekend in a garlic frame of mind. I’ve been working one 4x8’ garden bed, harvesting the pumpkins, removing the vines, reworking the soil with worm castings and compost, and planting the garlic that just arrived last Friday from Territorial Seed Company.

By the way, kudos to Territorial for all the information contained about the garlic varieties they sent that’s included on the label, which also has planting instructions. It is a handy label you can save to remind you of what varieties you planted come harvest time next spring, or take pictures of it for your garden diary. (By the way, they didn’t pay me to say that or plug them. I’m just happy with the service and the quality of the garlic that arrived.)

I chose this year to plant Susanville and Silver White for their long storage capabilities. In the podcast, you’ll hear me and Debbie Flower discussing our garlic planting tips from October of 2023, mentioning several other varieties. In the newsletter below, even more varieties are mentioned. There’s a lot to choose from! The beauty of being a gardener…growing what you truly enjoy.

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Want to grow garlic?

In milder climates (where the ground doesn’t freeze), now is the time to visit your favorite nursery, garden center or garden catalog company to choose the garlic varieties you want. Note I said, “varieties.” Grocery store garlic is primarily one or two varieties. Around here, it is usually California Early or California Late. And these two softneck, Artichoke varieties of garlic do grow well in USDA Zone 9. They take our late spring heat, are very productive, and can be stored (in a cool, dark room, in netted bags) for up to ten months. However, if you want a variety that has a deeper, full-bodied flavor, choose a hardneck variety, such as one of the Rocambole varieties, many of which do well in colder climates, where garlic is best planted two to four weeks before the ground freezes. In the past, I have had good luck with Killarney Red and German Red. Purple Stripe varieties are also quite flavorful, especially when used in baked dishes. Chesnok Red and FerganskiJ are two Purple Stripes that have done well here. Storage life for these varieties is much shorter, usually four to six months. The longest storing varieties – up to a year – are the Silverskins and Creoles, which include two of my favorites: Nootka Rose and Burgundy. Increasing in popularity because of their large size and tangy flavors are the Porcelain garlics, especially “Music”, with cloves as large as a Brazil nut.

A well-stocked garden center or independent nursery may have a better supply right now than many garlic catalogs, which sell out of their stock quickly. For more information about garlic – including longer definitions than what is supplied here – check out online garlic company Filaree Farm in Washington State (filareefarm.com). Their site can answer many of your garlic questions. A very good book on the subject is “Growing Great Garlic” by Ron Engeland. A harder to find, out-of-print book, “The Complete Book of Garlic” by Ted Jordan, is a prized ($$$) reference for garlic aficionados (I think, if you shop around, you can find the book a lot cheaper than what it’s selling for on Amazon).

University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Advisor Emeritus Michelle Le Strange offers these garlic growing tips:

* Below the paywall: A complete transcription of the newsletter podcast, plus:

* How to choose and plant a clove a garlic.

* How to tell when (and how) to harvest garlic.

* Plus: A tasty, slow cooker recipe that uses a lot of garlic!