Anyone Plant Garlic

[charlz]

I was planning to hang my garlic under my screened in porch of the east side of my house. It only gets about 3 hours of sun early in the morning. Do you think that would work?

My understanding is you don't want the sun to hit/be on the garlic when it is drying as the heat changes the flavor and not for the better.

 

[charlz]

At markets I frequent some growers just specialize with garlic offering a variety of different types to garlic lovers.

There is a lady at one of the local farmers markets that does this. Sells several types of garlic and she also makes various garlic products. Making the products is a lot more involved because, here at least, they have to be made in a commercial kitchen (one that gets inspected).

 

[hunterridgefarm]

You should investigate what types seem to sells best in your specific area. One kind may be more popular than some of the others. The price could be a factor too. Sometimes its tough to price what your worth with the flood of chinese garlic on the wholesale market but discriminating consumers know better. At markets I frequent some growers just specialize with garlic offering a variety of different types to garlic lovers. Here in Vermont there is a garlic Festival held every Fall its one of the largest events and draws loads of customers and vendors from far and wide!

The Annual Southern Vermont Garlic & Herb Festival

I am currently researching what sells and grows best in NC. I am going by to talk to a friend that grows garlic and has been doing this for years. He smells like garlic:laughing: and is a wealth of knowledge.

I went out at lunch and bought about 6 lbs of bulbs at the local produce stand. He told me it came form Sams Club; but some of the cloves were sprouting. I will plant it separate from the other and see how it does.

Charlz, I will find somewhere to cure/dry the garlic out of the sun. Thanks for the reply.

David

 

[forgeblast]

Garlic bulbs for sale at Territorial Seed Company. Buy garlic bulbs from Territorial Seed Company. lots of varieties. I tried some but it was a bit too damp for them. I want to try it again in my front planting bed. A guy I worked with used to sell them, but they were braided together. Looked really cool.

 

[DFB]

Stopped at the local coop for the business today to check on current apple prices and I saw this sign on garlic

 

[jinman]

Wow! DFB, that's twice the price of good steak by the pound. You can't blame the seller if they can sell it for that, but that's starting to sound like truffle prices.

 

[hunterridgefarm]

truffle prices.

I read an article this week about growing truffles in North Carolina. There 2-3 "hoping to be" big time growers in NC. One has invested $2 million in inoculated trees and has lost half of them to some kind of blite. However NC seems to have a great climate for truffles.

One grower has a degree in chemistry and has been doing ok. He purchased his starter trees overseas, if I remember correctly, and now inoculates his own trees and offers them for sale.

The price per pound is crazy.

My wife ask if this was something we wanted to look at getting into. I showed her the part of the article that said "digging" animals like possum, squirrel will dig them up when they are ripe...stop no need to go any further we are overrun with the tree rats

 

[DFB]

Here are the days prices on wholesale garlic to what I think would be the nearest wholesale terminal to your location...all Chinese grown too! :confused3:

GARLIC: MARKET STEADY. 30 lb cartons CQ White 55-60mm/5.5-6.0cm
26.00-28.00 netted 5s 55-60mm/5.5-6.0cm 26.00-28.00

http://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/ca_fv020.txt

 

[RalphVa]

Think garlic and onions need kinda sandy soil, different from what I have apparently. I haven't been able to get garlic to make cloves nor onions to grow very big. Then I have trouble keeping the onions or garlic. I usually just pull up what I need and use them because I know they won't keep, but none are very big. Because the garlic doesn't seem to "clove", they're hard to tell from onions. I'm in central Va.

Ralpb

 

[charlz]

I read an article this week about growing truffles in North Carolina. There 2-3 "hoping to be" big time growers in NC. One has invested $2 million in inoculated trees and has lost half of them to some kind of blite. However NC seems to have a great climate for truffles.

One grower has a degree in chemistry and has been doing ok. He purchased his starter trees overseas, if I remember correctly, and now inoculates his own trees and offers them for sale.

The price per pound is crazy.

My wife ask if this was something we wanted to look at getting into. I showed her the part of the article that said "digging" animals like possum, squirrel will dig them up when they are ripe...stop no need to go any further we are overrun with the tree rats

Grow enough garlic to cook/serve with the squirrels and then you can move on to truffles

 

[DFB]

Grow enough garlic to cook/serve with the squirrels and then you can move on to truffles

:laughing:

 

[forgeblast]

I was looking at growing the truffles in zone 5. You can get 2 different types of trees inoculated. I was planning on going the hazelnut route, but have been holding off since gas pipeline company's want to go right through the area where I want to plant.

 

[Brimfield]

I just ordered some Italian late garlic. No Italian blood but I eat garlic by the ton. Well may not be a ton but I use 3 cloves on a small pot roast.

 

[hunterridgefarm]

I check on the garlic I planted since it has been the coldest weather we have had in several years. It looks like some of it froze and is now mush but green tops.

Some may make it, only checked a couple of places. I may not have put enough mulch on it.

Of course, first year trying garlic so if it froze it is pretty much done for...correct?

 

[randy41]

i wouldn't give up on it yet. if the tops are green its still alive. i doubt that it has started bulbing up yet. how much mulch?

 

[hunterridgefarm]

Started with 1-2 inches of old straw. Heavy wind blew some off in places. This year I will grind up leaves and straw for mulch.

 

[randy41]

i used wood chips this year. the past 2 years i used pine straw. at least 4-6" thick. you should remulch where it blew off.

 

[charlz]

I can't imagine NC got much colder than we did here (a few weeks of minus single digits at night). My garlic is growing again now that things have warmed up. I have never had any issues with 'winter kill' other than a few I didn't plant deep enough and the frost heaved them out. I did mulch with about 4" of leaves and my garlic is in wooden raised beds.

Mulch works both ways, protects in the heat but it also locks the cold in this time of year. Sometimes it is helpful to pull the mulch back so the soil can warm faster. Raised beds should negate that as they warm faster anyway than flat ground.

 

[DFB]

Yea some of the latest recommendations I've seen suggest to pull winter mulches off as soon as possible in the springtime so the ground warms quicker.

 

[hunterridgefarm]

We will see what happens. This fall when I plant I will use more mulch for winter.