Hey everyone this is Shannie from Baker
Creek, and today I'm going to talk to you guys about garlic. I want to give you
guys the breakdown on the varieties of garlic that are available, because we may
not know it because you only typically see a few types represented in grocery
stores, but there are actually tons of different kinds of garlic. And right now
is a great time to decide what kind of garlic you're going to grow in your
garden, because it will depend on your location and your flavor preferences and
how you like to prepare your garlic, which variety is the best choice. I
encourage you guys to do some research -- think about your specific growing
climate, what your winters are like. Think about it: garlic is going to be in the
ground from about October, November until July. It's going to have to sit in your
ground over winter, so think about how harsh your winters are how many cold
days you typically get, and how long your winter lasts, the type of moisture that
your garden gets in the winter. All these are going to help you make a really good
decision for which variety to grow. There are so many reasons to integrate garlic
into your garden. First of all, the plants themselves actually have pest-repelling
qualities, so they will ward off certain pests in the garden just because of
their pungent smell. And that pungent smell is actually indicative of strong
medicinal properties. So when you're eating garlic cloves you're actually
getting the chemical allicin, which is really great for your immune system. It's
anti-inflammatory and it's potent with antioxidants, so it's a highly medicinal
plant. It's been used for centuries - actually much longer as a medicinal
plant and as a culinary ingredient. And so I want to teach you guys a little bit
more so that you can really get the best garlic crop possible. Softneck garlics
are a mild-flavored type. They have these soft tops that are great for braiding. If
you like garlic braiding you'll want to choose a softneck variety. Softneck
varieties are ideal for Mediterranean climates or climates with a more mild
winter and less chill hours over the winter. Alternatively if you're a northern
grower and you really want some braiding garlic, you can grow
softnecks; you just want to maybe plant them in a warmer microclimate in your
garden and be wary that the drainage is the biggest issue with softneck garlics
grown up north. So a really well-drained area is going to be best for your garlic
up north. It's the wet feet in that cold wet
winter that will really damage a softneck garlic for you northern growers, so
try your softneck garlic if you are a warm Mediterranean climate, if
you have a warmer winter, or if you can find well-drained soil up north. So when
we take a closer look we could see that it's got this soft top, something that's
really important to know about softneck garlics is they store for much longer.
The reason their storage life, which can be up to a year, in fact you'll often be
relying on your softneck varieties to get you into all the way through the
year until you're harvesting the next year's crop. But look at how many layers
of paper there are to these varieties. Look how difficult it is to peel this.
It's so much work. It's a lot more work than a rocambole or a hardneck
variety, and because it's a lot of work it's this is actually why it's a better
storage garlic. Because it's well preserved and it doesn't let air in to
spoil the cloves. So it's worth it - it's worth the extra effort to go through and
peel this more difficult garlic because it's going to store for much longer. So
if you're looking for a long storage variety, try a soft neck. There are two
different kinds of softneck varieties: there are artichoke types and there are
silver skin types but they're both known to be a lot more mild than the hardneck
varieties, so they've got a more sweet flavor, less pungent. Yeah, you can eat it fresh, no problem and
if you want the secret to braiding of making beautiful braids of garlic you
have to watch our YouTube video AnnaMarie, one of the lovely girls here at
Baker Creek, she braided these garlics and she actually did a tutorial video where
she teaches you step by step. I have tried making garlic braids; it's not very
difficult but I'm no artist so they're not as cool as these ones and she's done
some really incredible work, so be sure to check that out. So then we have
hardneck garlics. These are typically better adapted to
northern climates; they have a stiff stock rather than a soft stock, so
they're less ideal for braiding. However one of the my favorite parts about
hardneck garlic is that they create a scape. And garlic scapes are the stem of
the garlic. It comes up typically in your garden; it can range depending on your
location but around May, June -- that's usually when your garlic scape will come
up. And to me garlic scapes taste like a garlicky green bean. They're more mild
than the actual cloves themselves and they've got this beautiful crunchy
texture and they're just great when you stir fry them in a pan. I love to pickle
garlic scapes or you can make them into pesto. Garlic scape pesto is incredible, so
one of the greatest side benefits of a hardneck garlic is those scapes. And if
you are to let your scapes continue to mature, which I don't recommend, you
typically want to cut off your garlic scapes because they're going to send
more energy to producing the bulb if you cut the scape off. But if you were to let
your scapes go they're going to form these bulbils. It's not quite a true
flower; these are actually small clones, identical genetic clones of the cloves
themselves, but in nature what would happen was the stems would get heavy.
They would knock over and these bulbils would root themselves and that's how the
plant would propagate. And you can plant these small bulbils, but you typically
don't get several chambers of garlic, you'll just get one
hunk of garlic. It's kind of funky, actually. and the bulbils are really
beautiful to look at - these are actually quite ornamental, but again I
will caution against letting your scapes start to flower because it's going to
take energy away from forming these nice big bulbs and you don't want that. So
definitely cut those scapes and use them before they start to really open up
flower and bloom. There are many subgroups within the hardneck garlic variety and
one is a rocambole. And the rocambole is known to be one of the
tastiest types of garlic. They're really easy to peel; they have a short storage
life, only about six months, but they're so fantastic. They're great for baking
whole; they're really flavorful and complex. one variety of rocambole
that's known to be really hardy and tasty is Russian Red, and it's got some
nice purple streaking on it and you always know you have a rocambole when
it forms its scape. Because the scape, many garlic scapes, most garlic scapes
are either going to grow straight in the air or they're going to maybe have a
little curve to them. But a rocambole garlic is going to have two full loops
it's going to make two circles like a rollercoaster, so that's when you know
you have a rocambole. Another garlic variety that is beloved are the
porcelain type garlics. One in particular is called Music and it's
gonna have a beautiful white skin and super smooth parchment around the bulb.
Purple-striped varieties are some of the best for baking whole, and there are a
few varieties that we offer. Look at that beautiful purple. And see how easy this
is to peel? That's because it's a hardneck. The hardnecks, like I mentioned, are
much easier to peel than softnecks. So don't be surprised when the storage life
of this kind of garlic is shorter. This is going to be more like eight months.
And then there are the Creole-type hard necks. And those are originally from
Spain, and they're a great choice if you are a more mild climate grower but you
want to try a hardneck. Maybe you really want to get scapes, you've been hearing
about all your northern gardening friends and their delicious garden
scapes and you're having a little scape envy, try a Creole variety and a
great one that we offer is Moroccan Red. Finally elephant garlic, which actually
isn't a garlic at all it's technically and botanically a leek, although it does
look like just a super giant garlic and this one's fairly easy to peel and it's
got a super mild flavor, closer to that of leeks than of garlic, which does also
indicate that it's a little bit less potent in its medicinal quality, so if
you really want a more medicinal variety, try one of the smaller hardnecks,
especially some of the red hardnecks, those are really pungent. With the
elephant garlic it's going to be a bit more mild, much more mild, but you're
going to get way more bang for your buck because this is a huge clove of garlic.
So when planning to plant your garlic take into account a few factors. First
of all, the best time to plant your garlic is after your soil has been
exposed to a light frost. Now that's not hard and fast -- you don't have to let your
soil freeze or frost beforehand -- it just adds a bit of a growing advantage. So if
you are able to plan your garlic planting for, in most zones between zones
five and zone seven, maybe November. That's a great time early November -
typically your soil has seen a little bit of cold but then maybe it's bounced
back a little bit warmer and the soil is not frozen solid, That's a great time to
plant your garlic. Now maybe you're not afforded the luxury of a light frost and
then a warm up again and you just need to get that garlic in before the soil
freezes. In that case, get your garlic in before the soil freezes. So time your
planting as best you can according to that light frost on the
soil, and be sure not to jump the gun and plant it too early. That's important. You
don't want it to get going and grow green early in the season don't plant it
in August. That's too early. But you are going to want to preorder your garlic
bulbs now so get to planning. Think about which variety is going to be best for
your location depending on whether you have a
winter or a harsher winter. Harsher winters, grow that hardneck garlic; milder
winters go for softneck. Whether you like a storage garlic or whether you
like something that's got great flavor and it's easy to peel, make those
considerations before you decide which to buy. And don't forget you can also mix
and match and grow bulk softneck and hardneck and several subgroups within
that in the same garden -- there's no problem with that. And also think about
if you want garlic scapes because those are going to be great if you do a hardneck. So there you have it. Now you know the difference between your softnecks,
your hardnecks, what is a rocambole versus a porcelain versus a Creole. I
hope you guys are a little bit more enlightened and can make a better choice
about exactly what garlic you should grow in your garden and what for your
kitchen.
