GardenBanter.co.uk - happy equinox

"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
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0tterbot wrote:
"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
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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

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