Gary Woods wrote:
songbird wrote:

no idea how reputable or accurate, but at least it
is out there.

Be aware that garlic variety names are notoriously loose; there are so many
variations, landraces, local adaptations, whatever.

10 major groupings with 400-700 estimated
varieties. that's a lot of room for overlap
and misclassification.


And "reputable"
sources have been known to rename what they already have so the collectors
among us will buy the same thing again. There has been some laboratory
genetic fingerprinting done, which may help....I grow over a dozen
varieties, named by their source (mail order, local garlic fest, etc.).

yes, with hundreds of variants it's likely
to run into fun times when collecting.

i've encounted similar unfortunate practices
in the tulip bulb trade. just have to make
a note of who the honest folk are and to
give them the business.

at the moment i'm planting only a few
varieties of garlic here. one was given to
me be an old italian lady and all i know is
that it is a hard neck and has a moderate
heat when eaten raw. i don't know where she
got it from, if i get a chance to ask her
sometime i'll try to remember to do that.

as i get more varieties i will be looking
forwards to being able to distinguish them
from each other and learning how they grow.

always happy to hear from you Gary,


songbird