Just bought garlic for the Fall!

[Emsevers]

I've never ordered garlic seed online before. I've always bought whatever they have at the nursery but I decided that I wanted something a little more unique. So I started looking around and found the Oregon Blue variety but it was sold out in the first three places I looked. I had no idea that you had to order so early to get what you want. I'm glad I started looking around now. I finally found Filaree Garlic Farm and got the Oregon Blue as well as some Asian Tempest. I'm very excited and wondered if anyone else had ever ordered from them and if anyone has grown these types before.

Here is a link to their site:

http://www.filareefarm.com/seed-garlic-for-sale/Seed-Garlic/

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

actually, some places haven't yet got their final totals for 2012 so they have not yet posted their prices or what they have for this year. if you wait a couple more weeks WeGrowGarlic will have theirs posted for the 2012 year. i just got 2 different varieties from someone on ebay and they were decent. probably could have used another week of curing but they look like decent sized cloves for starting my collection for the new house (really it's 110+ years old but sort of new to me). the couple smaller bulbs in the bags i'm going to use for cooking to give them a try so i know which is which and how good they taste.

there is also a vendor down in TX that has their own site online but i've been finding they also list on ebay. the prices for the few they carry are about $5 cheaper on ebay if you're interested in them. they are called GarlicFields both on ebay and when you do a search for them.

 

[Emsevers]

I never even thought about EBay. Thanks for the idea. I'm going to check that out.

They aren't actually going to ship the garlic until September but I kept reading "order now so you get what you want". Maybe I jumped the gun but I'm glad I found what I wanted.

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

most places that sell garlic (and most plant places) like to have buyers lined up so it is sort of a first come first served when it comes to getting what you want.

i just checked WeGrowGarlic's site and they finally have their prices up! wooohooo!

eta: just be careful and read the reviews on some of the people listing on ebay. i'd watch out for anyone mentioning bulbs that look like they have mold on them. that is a bad sign they were not cured properly while drying or while they were growing they could have started to rot in the ground. i only had that happen one year from ebay bulbs i got. now i try to look to see if they are an established farm on the internet and if the prices are better on one area over the other.

 

[Emsevers]

Thank you for the tips.

Do you have any idea what type would be best grown in my area? We have very wet winters but they are fairly mild in temperature. I want some that I can harvest fairly early. I'm just starting to learn the difference between hardneck and softneck. I didn't know there was a difference before. I love the idea of braiding for storage. I'm just curious what are some favorites that have produced good results.

ETA: What are bulbils?

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

there is a very informative site that also has links to member farms growing garlic. http://gourmetgarlicgardens.com/ lots of good info on the 9 different categories of garlics. there are a lot of types that grow very well over on your coast and should do well for you. very few garlic will tolerate completely wet areas so make sure you have a raised area if your ground it more like a swamp. i've read that Kilarney Red, Italian Purple, Island Star (i think this comes from your area), and Pitarelli which i just ordered for WGG, are types that can be grown in wet areas with little issues.

prep an area now with compost and organic matter so it breaks down enough before you plant your cloves. they are heavy feeders but do much better with organic fertilizers than chemical ones.

softnecks usually store for a longer time than the hardnecks. so getting a little of both types is always good. what most grocery stores sell are the softneck types which they refrigerate while storing before selling and this is why they will sprout quickly after buying.

bulbils are the flower/seed heads that will form at the top of the scapes that garlic will produce. most people say to cut them off to make the bulbs grow bigger but there is always going to be debate on that. these i've been reading tend to be free from soil born diseases if you plan to by them. depending on the variety they could be as small as your pinky finger nail. i have bought them before but growing garlic large enough from them takes about 2-4 years from planting. it is a cheaper method of getting hard to find varieties in bigger quantities. i want to get a few from Canada and this is the only way to import them over the border. just be careful how much you spend on them, i've seen some crazy prices out there! especially on the shipping for tiny seeds!

 

[plainolebill]

Hi from Corvallis,

I've bought from Filaree farm and they sell nothing but organic, disease free, certified garlic so you're good to go with them. Lots of good information in their catalog too. They sell out early on the most popular varieties.

I haven't grown Oregon Blue or the Asian Tempest but the descriptions looks good. I think the asian varieties mature a little earlier than other varieties but how much I do not know. Garlic around here will be ready to harvest sometime between the 1st and 15th of July usually. We plant Kale for winter harvesting after the garlic.

If you want a couple of suggestions about varieties/types try one rocombole and a creole to round it out - unless of course you have all the seed you need. The rocomboles are good sized easy peeling great tasting garlic. The creoles are a hardneck that keep real well although they're pretty small in our neck of the woods. I guess the only kind of garlic I've been disappointed in is Porcelains, they're huge and pretty easy to peel but they only have 4 to 5 giant cloves, so about 25% of your crop has to be set aside for seed. I never seem to have the right mix of garlic for long term storage, etc. I'm working on it but we have not bought a single head of garlic since a few during spring of 2011 and we eat a lot of garlic. Ordinary organically grown California Early artichoke garlic goes for 6 bucks a pound in the stores here.

If you are truly insane, or have aspirations, read 'The Complete Book of Garlic' by Ted Meredith.

Another NW source for garlic seed is Whistling Duck Farm.

Sorry for such a long post. My name is Bill and I'm a garlicholic.

Bill

**Just a quick edit to 2nd the above post, I grow my garlic in raised beds and Killarney Red (Rocombole) is my favorite.

 

[thistlebloom]

Wow ChickiesMoma, you have been doing your garlic homework! I'm impressed!

And Plainolbill too!

 

[Emsevers]

I think I need to do some serious research. I had no idea how much I didn't know about garlic! I think that I might read that book Bill. I only garden in raised beds so I'm thinking that I may have pretty good luck as far as drainage is concerned. Things do get pretty soggy here sometimes so I'm on track there.

Bill, do you know of any places locally that sell a good selections of garlic seed. The place I normally go usually has three varieties and that's it. I hate paying shipping cost and would rather drive an hour to pick it out myself. I was thinking maybe Territorial In cottage grove might have a better selection.

Chickie's, you have helped me out a lot and inspired me to learn more. I think I'm going to try to get a couple more varieties so I can see which type I have the best luck with. I think I'm going to stay away from the bulbils for now until I have a better grasp of the whole garlic thing.

 

[plainolebill]

I've bought seed garlic from Territorial, their descriptions are a little vague as far as I'm concerned but if you were to look at some of the other websites for more complete information you'd know exactly what you were getting. They divide all the garlics into either hard or soft necks which is true but actual types can make a big difference. Artichokes are a softneck but don't keep as long as a silverskin and are much larger, creoles are a hardneck and keep better than artichoke plus they generally taste better, etc. I was completely satisfied with the garlic I got from TS.

Whistling Duck is near Williams (home of Forest Farm Nursery) in the Applegate Valley - South of Medford, I may make a trip down there someday but not this year. Another seed source is Hood River Garlic, never been there.

You're going to enjoy growing your own garlic - starting about a month before the garlic is ready to harvest you'll get the scapes from the hardnecks - a bonus.

To answer your question directly - no, those are the only sources that I know of. If you're near Eugene possibly Down to Earth but I really have no idea.

Happy gardening, Bill