Best varieties of garlic you've grown in zone 9a

[U_Stormcrow]

I was thinking my grapes would keep the soil cooler and buffer my brutal afternoons.

 

[AGeese]

I'm one of those "garlic eaters" as Mr Potter from It's a Wonderful Life called them, but in reading this short thread I just realized how much I didn't know about garlic variety.

 

[Minanora]

This year my garlic bed is heavily mulched with pine shavings. Then I will be covering the bed with shade cloth as we approach summer.

Last year my garlic was planted in a bed that got afternoon shade, and I got a very good yield from what I planted. But! I need a lot more! We use so much garlic in our home.

I only planted a single 8' row of garlic last year. This year, I think there's 182 cloves sprouting so far? I did a whole 8x4' bed. Left some room between heads for tucking in cilantro, and early season basil.

Oh and there's a ton of second year volunteer starts in that old 8' row that I haven't decided what to do with yet.

 

[Sally PB]

I had a couple of volunteers last year. I also had a couple of hardneck plants that bloomed when I didn't see and cut the scape. They made tiny little bulbils. I saved them to plant and got some small plants out of them.

Unfortunately, I didn't mark/save the cloves, so they must have been eaten with the other small cloves.

 

[SourRoses]

I wish I could grow hardnecks so much!

The other night, I was preparing a garlic cream sauce and used two bulbs from different shopping trips. The first was unusually hard to separate and skin, but then the second was a red variety that came apart easily. I knew I preferred the taste of red but hadn't done a side by side, so I took the opportunity to pop a clove of each in my mouth back to back and my goodness that red was something. The heat lasted three times as long and finished with a complex aftertaste.
I like to stick them in my mincer machine and pulverize them into something reminiscent of applesauce, then saute that lightly. The fine texture lets all the flavor come out into the sauce.

Someone needs to breed a hardneck red for the south! I mean it! Or else I'll be forced to move north and breathe on everyone.

 

[alwaystj9]

I just couldn't chomp a whole raw clove like that

 

[SourRoses]

I just couldn't chomp a whole raw clove like that

Hehe, well I think tolerance is accumulated. First start with a teeny tiny piece now & then. You'll soon realize the part of your brain that says "Ahh, this is too hot!" is just a bit of unnecessary panic. When it settles on your tongue and the other flavors come through, and then the whole hotness fades to nothing, it's actually enjoyable. And it's so beneficial, with a gazillion enzymes and compounds. Some of which don't make it through cooking / processing. And ancient people used to chomp on raw garlic to preserve their teeth!
But I'm at the point where I can't taste Garlic at the levels others usually include in dishes. If I go too long without, I get such a strong craving as though my brain has identified it as an essential nutrient.

Funny though, I have zero Pepper tolerance. And I bet a lot of Pepper people can't take Garlic! Although, those with the ability to chomp strong Peppers and raw Garlic probably need to be in some kind of competition, lol.

 

[AGeese]

I make garlic tea when I'm sick.

 

[Sally PB]

I make garlic tea when I'm sick.

Recipe?

 

[AGeese]

Recipe?

Boil a clove or two of garlic, and one baby carrot in 1-2 cups water for 1-3 minutes depending on your sensitivity, drink and then eat the garlic.