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  • From: Alliums <garlicgrower AT earthlink.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Garlic Questions
  • Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 11:47:02 -0500

Dave wrote:


Regarding seed garlic (I am assuming these are cloves),

Yep.

what are some good
sources for online ordering?

It's better to get seed garlic local so that you don't have to wait 3 years for it to get used to your area and produce the best yields (or do nothing if it's one that just doesn't like your region). If you don't know anyone around who is producing seed garlic, call the Garlic Seed Foundation (do a Google search -- GSF doesn't have a website, but there is plenty of places that tell you how to contact them) and find out who sells seed garlic in your area.

Plus, what is the best month in which to
order?

Lining up a supplier pre-August means that you will get what you want. It's scary how fast you can sell out when folks hear you have seed garlic for sale -- I had folks calling me August 1 to be first in line to get what cured -- and I didn't ship until late September because I was worried about the extreme heat that year.

What are some good strains to plant in colder climates (such as
Minne-snowta)?

Check the Seed Savers Exchange Yearbook or http://www.seedsavers.org/ while you're waiting for GSF to get back to you.

Once you find a good garlic strain, do you just keep back some cloves for
seed instead of ordering seed garlic every year?

Oh, yes! It's way too expensive to buy seed garlic every year and once a garlic is happy in YOUR soil under YOUR conditions, why muck with someone else's?

We started out raising garlic in an unorthodox way. About four years ago,
we bought some bulk garlic at a grocery store and planted cloves. EVERY
single clove produced a nice head of garlic. We then used cloves from the
harvest to plant for the next two years. Turned out fine. Judging by what
I've read on this list, it appears that we may have just been lucky, I don't
know.

You were lucky beyond words. Also, you must have lgotten a hardneck garlic instead of the Gilroy CA EARLY or CA LATE which has become so totally acclimated to irrigation that if it doesn't get it's water fix daily, the leave tip turn brown by evening.


Dorene Pasekoff, Coordinator
St. John's United Church of Christ Organic Community Garden

A mission of
St. John's United Church of Christ, 315 Gay Street, Phoenixville, PA 19460





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