Just bought garlic for the Fall!

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

if you have local farmers markets keep an eye opened for anyone selling garlic in the next few weeks. ask them what types they grow or if they could suggest any they have that are good for beginners in your area. or, you could just buy a couple of their largest, cleanest bulbs and ask them what they are called. you don't have to tell them you'll be planting some. this way you can also try and cook some of them up and decide if you really want to try and grow that type!

i'm hoping at the end of September that i can go to a garlic festival in western Mass. my dh loves garlic and i'm looking for some of the hotter types for him to try before i decide to get more to grow. i also have Temptress coming from WGG. i have a friend who bought the Martin's Heirloom a few years ago and just keeps the biggest bulbs for growing the next season. she's going to let me have a few to try.

 

[plainolebill]

Here's a picture of some Killarney Red.

 

[Emsevers]

i'm hoping at the end of September that i can go to a garlic festival in western Mass. my dh loves garlic and i'm looking for some of the hotter types for him to try before i decide to get more to grow. i also have Temptress coming from WGG. i have a friend who bought the Martin's Heirloom a few years ago and just keeps the biggest bulbs for growing the next season. she's going to let me have a few to try.

Now that you mention a festival I remembered that there is an elephant garlic festival near here. It's in North Plains, which is about a 45 min. drive from me. I recently read that elephant garlic is not actually a garlic but is part of the leek family. I thought that was pretty interesting. That could be a fun festival. My moms neighbor used to grow huge amounts of elephant garlic and share some with his neighbors, so apparently it grows well in my area.

Thanks for the picture Bill. I've been shopping around for this type since you guys mentioned it but it makes be sick to pay over $6-$10 in shipping. That's almost more than you pay for the garlic. So if you know of anyone who has really good shipping rates let me know. I think I'm going to call territorial and see what types they carry in their store and when. It looks like some pretty cool stuff.

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

oooh, i forgot to mention that if you have any local organic/natural foods stores in your area you might be able to find some garlic there, if it is like my local stores most food is seasonal and from local growers. though i would rather buy direct from anyone selling at a farmers market or a roadside stand.

 

[plainolebill]

emsevers, if you decide to go to Territorial and have time for a detour to Corvallis I can give you a couple of heads of Killarney Red to get you started. Send me a PM when and if you'd like to do that.

 

[vfem]

I bought california white and elephnat garlic a couple of years ago, been regrowing it over and over from my own for years now. This year I'm planning on adding a new variety. So I'm glad to have found this thread, you guys are giving me a lot to think about. I don't order mine until next month when I'm planning my next fall gardening class.

 

[Emsevers]

I bought california white and elephnat garlic a couple of years ago, been regrowing it over and over from my own for years now. This year I'm planning on adding a new variety.

I'm hoping to be able to start with a few varieties and be able to keep growing them without buying new seed every year. It's so self sufficient. Then maybe I can trade with others in the future to get new varieties.

I found the farmers market coming up on Thursday and supposedly there's a vendor from a garlic farm. So I'm very excited to check it out and see what they have. If I buy garlic now how do I keep it until its time to plant?