inchelium red garlic

[songbird]

found the cite i noted earlier Derald.

no idea how reputable or accurate, but at least it is out there. :)

songbird

[Gary Woods]

Be aware that garlic variety names are notoriously loose; there are so many variations, landraces, local adaptations, whatever. And "reputable" sources have been known to rename what they already have so the collectors among us will buy the same thing again. There has been some laboratory genetic fingerprinting done, which may help....I grow over a dozen varieties, named by their source (mail order, local garlic fest, etc.).

[Gary Woods]

I only know of one instance, though I suspect it's pretty common. Your best bet is to plant the best of your own crop. Disclaimer: I'm in the Northeast, so PNW conditions are alien to me. I have no problem storing from August to November, and most of my stored garlic is fine well into the next spring.

[songbird]

this was the site i meant to cite, that had the planting date that was mentioned in a separate thread (able to be planted into January).

actually, already read through their site (very useful and informative).

songbird

[songbird]

10 major groupings with 400-700 estimated varieties. that's a lot of room for overlap and misclassification.

yes, with hundreds of variants it's likely to run into fun times when collecting. :)

i've encounted similar unfortunate practices in the tulip bulb trade. just have to make a note of who the honest folk are and to give them the business.

at the moment i'm planting only a few varieties of garlic here. one was given to me be an old italian lady and all i know is that it is a hard neck and has a moderate heat when eaten raw. i don't know where she got it from, if i get a chance to ask her sometime i'll try to remember to do that.

as i get more varieties i will be looking forwards to being able to distinguish them from each other and learning how they grow.

always happy to hear from you Gary,

songbird

[The Cook]

I pulled my garlic about July and planted in early November. It has sprouted and will probably disappear if we get much really cold weather. It will reappear in the early spring. I started it a couple of years ago with a bag of garlic from Costco. I may get some different ones next fall and see if I can tell the difference.

The rest of mine is still mostly good. I spread it on a board in the basement which stays fairly cool in the summer. I brought it up to sort out for this year and put the remainder in an onion bag. I need to take it back down to the basement. I also need to remember to save some of the mesh bags for garlic and onions next year.

[songbird]

how often do you have a complete crop failure for something you've grown before and know pretty well? i think the odds are heavily in your favor on that aspect.

an estimated 400-700 varieties, etc. so plenty to work with for a collector. :)

all i can say is that i enjoyed their materials and hope they'll be in business for a good long time. no actual experience with them myself otherwise.

good luck. :)

songbird