Spring is here, Garlic is poking out it’s baby tops.

Thanks to my friends Sarah and Nancy for assistance in bed prepping and planting the garlic last fall.  Well done ladies, it’s looking great.

Willie Nillie grows five varieties of Garlic all Hardneck:

German: Larger Cloves it has a strong flavor, but it’s not spicy.

Armenian: Larger bulbs and cloves it has a very strong flavor, but isn’t spicy.  Earlier to harvest, stores well.

Chesnok Red: Large bulbs, but smaller cloves, it’s the sweetest roasting garlic and is  slightly more spicy than the previous two and the skin is purple.

Mateshi Red: Similar to Chesnok and varies in spice and size.

Krasnodar Red: Large bulbs, with Red-ish purple-striped bulbs, keeps good flavor after cooking.

I look forward to sharing all the great flavors.

Hardneck Garlic

Hardneck garlic (Allium sativum ophioscorodon) tend to have more flavor than their soft-necked cousins. They’re characterized by hard woody central stalks and a long flower stalk (scape) that loops and curls, usually twice. They tend to have four to twelve cloves in each bulb.

Hardneck garlic can sometimes verging on being spicy or hot. Others say they’re spicier, more complex, and altogether more “garlicky.” Porcelain, Rocambole, and Purple Stripe varieties are all part of the hardneck family.

Hardneck garlic tends to grow best in areas with very cold winters, since they require a longer time of vernalization (i.e., they need a long, cold winter to be dormant so they can flower in the spring).

Learn more about garlic here: