Garlic is A FAMILY, not just A VEGETABLE: Most gardeners think it’s all just garlic; whatever bulb they comes across gets chucked into the ground without much thinking. That’s a recipe for what appears on the dinner plate; and a mistake that becomes evident every meal.
There are different kinds of garlic. They is a family, and each has its own personality. This includes optimal growing conditions (climate), storage characteristics, and flavor. To get not-mushy-in-July bulbs, and ones that realy last through winter, select the kind that’s best for where you live.
Choosing the Right Garlic for Your Garden
This chart spells out those details, explaining how the two main types, softneck and hardneck. Differ in their shelf life, their pungency, and the number of cloves per head. This is not trivia; it is difference between keeping your crop well into spring versus having it turn to mush by July.
Now comes your most important choice: Softneck or hardneck? Hardnecks are the dramatic actors in the garden: they produce an early summer flower stalk (called a scape) with big leaves on top, and you must cut off the scape; otherwise, the bulb beneath never gets large. Hardnecks thrives in a cold winter. That deep freeze (called vernalization) is what tells the plant it’s time to form a bulb. It’s like the cold says, “Go ahead, I’ll let you grow a bulb now.” Porcelain and rocambole types is part of this group. Usually these bulbs has larger, but fewer, cloves that are easy to separate and peel. Flavor is complex and bold, sometimes quite hot and spicy, which makes it good for roasting. But there’s a tradeoff: Hardnecks don’t store as long; eat within a couple of months after harvest or they’ll dry up.
Softnecks are the workhorses of choice. The neck is flexible, which is great for braiding when it’s time to hang them up to store. Since their necks aren’t stiff, there is a nice tight fit between the individual clove. This allows the wrappers to form a naturaly seal, helping prevent any moisture loss. Softneck types include artichokes and silverskins. Each contains many more smaller, less-easily-peeled cloves than a hardneck. However, they also store very well (more on that later).
Silverskins tend to have a milder, more consistent flavor. Because of these traits, and the fact that there’s such a high number of smaller cloves, they makes up most of the heads you find in the grocery store bin.
Match the variety to your local climate, too: For instance, if you are in a tough-winter area, a porcelain hardneck will perform when a softneck would rot. The hard frost triggers the signal for bulbs to form. But if you’re in a relatively mild-winter area and wish to store garlic year-round, then your optimal choice is silverskin softneck. Many beginners have planted the wrong thing, meaning small, one-clove bulb that never got the proper temperature cues.
You need variety and timing. Plant your cloves in fall, when the ground cools off but isn’t frozen. They’ll have time to take hold without pushing up tops. Watch for leaves to appear in spring; generally the more leaves, the more cloves you’ll get. About mid-summer, look for browning of lowest leaves, which is when it’s time to dig. Don’t wait till the plant dies back to the ground… The cloves will be exposed then, vulnerable to sun and rot.
Store the bulbs in an airy, shaded place to cure for several weeks first.
That’s the lesson. The chart shows where all those characteristics overlap, and there is also a lesson in intent. There are no one-size-fits-all approaches to garlic. There’s one type you’d plant if you want some of your crop to push up extra-early in summer, and another whose subtle-onion flavors will carry you through till next year’s crop. How do you know which? Plant garlic with intention and even a basic garlic patch becomes a garden spot where you can count on fresh, pungent goodness all winter long, and then some. It begins with selecting the proper seed, and it finishes with bulbs that delivers on the promise.