happy equinox

 

Have you got your garlic in?  

David

 


oops, not yet!!

maybe this weekend. except that dh decided he wants to plant LOTS & after
working with garlic at a garlic farm 2 seasons in a row, i personally have
decided i _loathe_ it now, so i still only want about 1 square metre. one
will discuss this.

happy equinox david & everybody!
kylie

 

0tterbot wrote:

What cultivars of garlic do you (or the farm) have?  What are they like?

David

 


err, one is known as "red" and the other is known as "white"... <g>. beyond
that, i can't help you, sorry! except to say the white is a medium strong &
medium-to-large sized one, the red a little smaller & features a nice
plainish-to-stripey, purplish-red & white effect on the exterior of the
cloves. the white will grow a scape at maturity, but the red doesn't. the
white can be stored for up to a year in a good spot, the red seems to last
only about 6 months although obviously if it's saved for seed it's usable
that way after a year.

also here at home we have russian garlic (aka garlic leek, a very mild one
that doesn't normally have what you would call cloves - it really just looks
very like a tall slender leek) growing everywhere like a freaking weed.
hence i have some reluctance to plant too much real garlic - the only way to
keep the russian(s) from taking over entirely is to dig them out & eat them.
(if you just dig them out & leave them on the ground, they only replant
themselves. it's mildly incredible). the russian multiplies both underground
AND by the seed heads it puts up in summer. i love the seed heads, they're
very tall & pretty, & it's a nice garlic because it's very mild. the only
problem is it's weediness although i suspect that somewhere further north
than here it would be a little less weedy.

needless to say, imho if anyone offers you a few russian garlics, take them.
any vegetable that just grows itself is worth having.
kylie