Garlic for 2020

[pepperhead212]

What kinds are you planting this year, for next?

I got my garlic in the ground today, with a couple new varieties - 51 Italian Red porcelain, and 19 Montana Giant. These, plus 58 Metechi, and 67 Estonian Red, filled up the double row of garlic. The Italian had very large cloves, and the Montana Giant was even larger - the 19 cloves were from just a half pound. The Estonian Red was the smallest this year, which is unusual.

I 'tilled the row to fluff it up, then planted the garlic on both sides of the line I pulled down the center of the row.
Garlic is in! 195 cloves, 11-4-2019 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Garlic row - line removed, and smoothed over, ready for the mulch! by pepperhead212, on Flickr

 

[larry_stewart]

I got Montana Giant, German White, Music and French white ( I think)

I put mine in a week ago

A few years ago, I had my best garlic year ever , and that was with Montana Giant and Music. The year after I had a decent year also. I added German White to the bunch, cause I visited a garlic farm up in Connecticut, and he sold seed garlic there. I figured if it did well in CT it should also do well in NY ( since Im only about 30or 40 miles south of the farm). This year , I went to the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival, and picked up the French White variety. The cloves looked good and healthy, also grown in NY so I Figured Id give it a shot.

2 years agoyear I grew 60 bulbs and that lasted me for about 6 months ( July - December). This past year I grow about 120, hoping to make it a full year that I dont have to purchase garlic ( depending on storage). This year, I got in about 140.

Luckily, garlic is one of my more predictable crops. I usually harvest around July 4th ( its kinda tradition), so it also allows me to plant something else in its place.

 

[larry_stewart]

Just out of curiosity., is that Sage and Rosemary off to the right ?

 

[pepperhead212]

Just out of curiosity., is that Sage and Rosemary off to the right ?

Yes. Those are doing great, for just their second years! At the beginning of last season, I ordered some Hill Hardy Rosemary, from Richter's herbs, to replace my really old (15 ir 16 years old) plant that died that winter (I had a knee injury, and surgery, and couldn't get out to cover them). I heard that Hill Hardy was even more cold resistant than Arp - traditionally the best for cold, but when I tried it many years ago, it had a different flavor than regular rosemary. So I got 3 of those plants, a silver thyme, a Syrian oregano (a.k.a. Thyme Scented Oregano), and the Mammoth Leafed Sage. Last winter I kept one of the rosemaries in a 4 1/2 gal fabric pot on my back porch, along with the other plants, and two of the rosemaries (the two in the picture) in the ground, and when it got below 20° out, one I covered with a trash can, and left the other one uncovered. It got down to the single digits a few times, 5° the lowest, and the uncovered one survived! It was smaller, but no browned needles at all, so it is definitely cold resistant.

The one in the pot got much larger, but rootbound, by this spring - always my experience with potted rosemary. It was re-potted in a 7 gal fabric pot in April, but I'm sure it will be rootbound sometime next year.

 

[bethzaring]

This entire 4'x18' raised bed is planted to over 8 pounds of garlic cloves. The majority is planted to Purple Glazer, the garlic that over winters well for me, German Extra Hardy, my favorite garlic and one row to Red Chesnok

 

[pepperhead212]

You've got more planted than I have, bethzaring! Neither of us have to worry about vampires.

 

[bethzaring]

You've got more planted than I have, bethzaring! Neither of us have to worry about vampires.

No vampires here!

By next garlic planting season, I hope to have two more raised beds built. This one bed is not enough to keep me in culinary garlic, considering how much needs to be kept back for replanting. I've been known to use 1 to 2 heads a day in cooking.

 

[larry_stewart]

You've got more planted than I have, bethzaring! Neither of us have to worry about vampires.

Hey, I want to be part of the No Vampire Club too

 

[larry_stewart]

Yes. Those are doing great, for just their second years! At the beginning of last season, I ordered some Hill Hardy Rosemary, from Richter's herbs, to replace my really old (15 ir 16 years old) plant that died that winter (I had a knee injury, and surgery, and couldn't get out to cover them). I heard that Hill Hardy was even more cold resistant than Arp - traditionally the best for cold, but when I tried it many years ago, it had a different flavor than regular rosemary. So I got 3 of those plants, a silver thyme, a Syrian oregano (a.k.a. Thyme Scented Oregano), and the Mammoth Leafed Sage. Last winter I kept one of the rosemaries in a 4 1/2 gal fabric pot on my back porch, along with the other plants, and two of the rosemaries (the two in the picture) in the ground, and when it got below 20° out, one I covered with a trash can, and left the other one uncovered. It got down to the single digits a few times, 5° the lowest, and the uncovered one survived! It was smaller, but no browned needles at all, so it is definitely cold resistant.

The one in the pot got much larger, but rootbound, by this spring - always my experience with potted rosemary. It was re-potted in a 7 gal fabric pot in April, but I'm sure it will be rootbound sometime next year.

Ive had no luck bringing rosemary in. I usually keep them alive until about Feb or March, but then they take a turn for the worse. Ive kept cuttings alive , but its like starting over again. I once had an established plant for 3 years. I wrapped it, put a garbage can over it ... Worked well, until we got a blast of arctic weather for a a longer than usual period of time and that did it in. My sage is like a weed, Even when the main plant croaks, usually it roots itself an adjacent plant which survives. Ive been pretty successful rooting both the sage and rosemary , but I hate staring over if I dont have too.

 

[pepperhead212]

I gave up on potted rosemary long ago. I would just cover it, with some of that heavy greenhouse plastic, when it would go below 20° (traditionally, the cut-off temp for rosemary), and maybe put a 100w light bulb under the cover, if it was in the low teens. And if it was super cold, like in single digits, I'd put a 500 watt portable heater under there, but that was rare - most winters didn't call for it. Sage didn't require protection, but I did lose 2 plants, through the many years, to extreme cold - they just didn't pop back up in the spring.

I also had some of that Syrian oregano many years ago, called thyme scented oregano by the local nursery that had it, but unfortunately, never again. I had it for 6 or 7 years, with almost no care, then it died, in one of those winters that killed a sage plant. I'm thinking of taking a cutting of it, to grow inside, just to be safe. I have 2 well established plants out there, which I hope will survive the winter, but you never know!

Another Origanum species that I used to have, for many years, was marjoram. It would return every year, with almost no care, but didn't spread, like regular oregano, and I liked the flavor of the fresh leaves better than fresh oregano. It died, in one of those severe winters, and I've had trouble getting it to grow from seed. I finally got some growing this year, in the hydroponics! I have a feeling a bunch of trimming will be needed, like with the Syrian oregano.

Nothing like fresh garlic and herbs!