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Friday, November 4, 2011

Garlic!

Cold weather is upon us once again, which means that it is time to plant some garlic! 

After our biggest garlic harvest EVER, it feels good to know that we've closed the loop entirely on this simple (yet all-important) ingredient. Our success with the harvest can be credited to our winter hoop houses and lots of chicken manure; key components to the largest garlic bulbs we've ever grown.

Garlic growing this Summer
While we do grow more than the three varieties listed below, this is all I've managed to plant. The Husband and I enjoy the hot varieties best, but there is really something to be said for the sweet, full-bodied flavors found in the more mild varieties.

Your humble Cottager's much sought after identity is finally revealed! Oh, and I have some garlic!

Here is some information relating to the varieties grown at the Tiny Green Cottage. 


Hardneck
Ontario Purple Trillium  (“OPT”)
  •  Heirloom
  • Early to mature, sturdy stalks, large bulbs
  • Very hot! 
Softneck (easier to braid)
Oregon Blue
  • Northwest Heirloom
  • High yielding, blue-purple bulb wrappers, stores well
  • Hot!
Polish 
  • Old-world variety
  • Winter hardy. Great for braiding. Ready in early Summer.
  • Rich and hot. Maintains heat after roasting.
Eventually, I'd like to swap other varieties with some garlic aficionados. If you have a variety to recommend, I'd love to hear it!

7 comments:

thedr9wningman said...

I'm considering planting elephant garlic. Where do I find the bulbs you speak of? I can do some more mild garlic varieties & trade, but I don't have the space nor the output that you have! What are some milder varieties? And do I just stick them in the ground & put poop on them?

Urban Cottager said...

Naomi's Organic Farm Supply is where we obtained our seed garlic last year. Here is the link to her Garlic page:

http://naomisorganic.blogspot.com/2010/01/seeds.html

The entire crew is great to deal with and extremely knowledgeable.

We double-dug all beds and added compost to the dirt before planting. Top with dirty chicken straw and water well. We grew the garlic inside of a hoop house which helped to expedite the growing process through the winter and spring.

Rainy Day Gardener said...

This is my first year planting garlic. I'm hope I don't blow it. I wanted to try Oregon Blue, but there was a crop failure w/Territorial Seeds. I swapped out for Inchelium Red. We'll see! Glad to see you on blogger again, hope all else is going well in your gardens :)

Urban Cottager said...

Hi Jenni-

I'm sure you'll do great with your first attempt at growing garlic! We've grown the Inchelium Red before, which is a very nice variety. There are usually many cloves on each bulb, making it great for cooking or Pesto!

Anonymous said...

I grow garlic to keep the critters out of the garden. Haven't a clue what type it is. I got it from my mom's garden years and years ago.

Landbohaven said...

Gode billeder.
Hvor har du haft en god høst.
Tak for kigget.

hailey said...

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Hailey William
haileyxhailey@gmail.com

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