This is exciting. The folks at Peaceful Valley Farm and Garden Supply (PVF) have asked Gardenerd to participate in their Garlic Planting Party this week, and you reap the benefits. One lucky Gardenerd reader will win a Garlic Party Prize Package (details below) to enhance your garlic growing experience this fall.
But first, a little about the subject at hand. Here in Southern California, we typically grow softneck varieties, though I know someone who grows hardnecks because he didn’t know he wasn’t supposed to grow them here. Seems to work for him. Anywho… we plant in October, it grows through winter, and is harvested sometime in May through June.
Garlic is one of the easiest crops to grow, with relatively few pests or diseases. We have rust fungus in our soil, so we rotate garlic to a new location each year to keep it at bay. PVF has a great instructional video on how to plant garlic, so check that out to get started.
In the south, California Early White is a popular variety to grow. It is a Silverskin variety, which tends to keep longer, and produces between 12-16 cloves per bulb. Long-storage softnecks are best for garlic braiding, so California Early is a good choice if you plan to braid your harvest.
When it comes to harvesting, we wait until only 5 or 6 leaves are still green, we stop watering and wait a few days for the soil to dry out before pulling the bulbs. We cure the harvest for several weeks on newspaper out of direct sunlight and then it’s ready for braiding.
Check out our Garlic Braiding Video learn how to store your harvest in style.
Now – on to the Garlic Party.
This is a chance to learn more about growing, harvesting and cooking with garlic and shallots from bloggers all over the country. Each blogger will be giving away a different variety. Here are my cohorts and their respective giveaways:
Susy Morris at Chiot’s Run (Garlic combo)
Gen Schmidt at North Coast Gardening (Russian Red)
Jodi Torpey at Western Gardeners (Purple Italian)
Theresa Loe at Living Homegrown (German Red)
Chris McLaughlin at Urban Farm (Purple Glazer)
Charlotte Germane & Cindy McNatt at Dirt Du Jour (Shallots)
Peaceful Valley Farm & Garden Supply at PVF (Bogatyr)
If you want to win that variety of garlic or shallots, leave a comment on the respective blog. You have until midnight PT, Wednesday, October 17th to post. Winners will be chosen at random and here is what you’ll win:
- 1 pound of organic seed garlic (each blog will have a different variety)
- 1 quart of our Liquid Kelp (for soaking the cloves overnight before planting)
- 10 gallon Smart Pot (to plant some in a container)
- 1 Garlic Twist (clever kitchen gadget that minces the cloves when you twist it; easy to use and clean)
- 1 5×7 photo print of the garlic variety
More about Garlic
Before we get to the contest question, here are some great Gardenerd blog posts about garlic that can help you this season:
The Trick to Bigger Garlic
Storing Garlic: Sprout Not My Friend
Okay – now for the question: What’s your most successful garlic experience? This includes growing, cooking or eating it. Leave your comment below (be sure to include an email address) and we’ll announce the winner next week.
Happy garlic-ing!
Thank you everyone who posted a comment. I hope you feel inspired to grow garlic whether or not you win. And now…
We have a winner, selected at random! And the winner is………
Bonnie Wicker!
Congratulations Bonnie, we’ll be contacting you shortly to send your prize.
I have only grown the supermarket garlic so this could end up being my best garlic experience!
Had really good luck growing Inchelium Red garlic this past year and used it in just about everything we cooked.
Growing garlic has been a great experience! We have a fairly harsh, dry, hot climate and some years it is the only thing that produces well.
Every time I eat garlic it’s a success. 😉 I’ve never grown garlic before, so I can’t talk about successes in that department. My favorite thing to to with garlic is slow roast it and spread the roasted garlic on toast and crackers with fresh tomato slices. I’d love to win this so I can add growing garlic organically to my repertoire.
I grew garlic from the little pips on a hardneck garlic scape. It took three years of patience to finally get a harvest but it was a fun project!
I grew garlic for the first time last year. It was wonderful!
I’ve never grown garlic, so I guess my greatest success would be limited to roasting garlic. I will say that I can handle that pretty easily, and there is nothing like roasted garlic spread on crackers!
I grew garlic last year and it was amazing! I’ve never grown softneck garlic though – it would be fun to be able to braid it.
One of my most successful things to use garlic in is a Roasted Spaghetti Sauce. Tomatoes, carrots, onions, peppers and of course garlic- tossed with a little evoo, thyme, salt and pepper-roasted in the oven (or grill) – pull skins off and chop all together and serve over favorite pasta. I put a lot of this in the freezer to get that fresh summer taste all winter long! This is my first year to try planing garlic and I would love another variety to try.
Am excited to start growing garlic this coming year.
I planted my first garlic last yr to keep the deer away from my daffodils when they emerged then I found out deer don’t eat daffodils! LOL The garlic was successful so I bought more varieties to try planting this year. My studies have stated that stiff necks do better in the northern climates so I’m ready for the giveaway. Ü
I would love to try planting garlic. I think my crop of softnecks just disappeared. Garlic….Vampires…..
I have an herb, pepper and tomato garden at the moment. I’d love to try growing garlic.
I had been making vegetable frittatas for breakfast for a while before I added garlic. Va-va-voom! Tasted sooo much better with garlic (duh!)
Thanks for the opportunity! My first year growing garlic was a revelation, the pesto from the scapes and the actual harvest lasted me almost all year. Hoping to try softneck this year.
I grow with kids – elephant garlic is a great hit!
Instead I’ll give my more enlightening experience. I always found the taste of Elephant garlic a little off, besides being too mild and giving me funny burps I don’t get from eating other garlics. Only after I started gardening did I learn that they are actually closer to leeks than garlics. Interesting that I get the same reaction from my body when I eat leeks–and that’s why I stopped growing the big cousin of the alliums.
Anywhoo, garlics are awesome and this will be my first seasong growing it.
Thanks for the contest.
Started gardening this fall by helping out with my son’s school as the sprout parent, which I’m loving the experience. We cook everything with garlic especially fried rice.
My most memorable garlic memory is from about 14 years ago. We had just moved to our small country community from the suburbs and getting to know our new surroundings we decided to go to the farmers market where I meet Arlene. She had pickled garlic. Our first experience with pickled garlic it was the best thing ever! We would pair it with a cold beer when we would introduce this new delicacy of ours to our suburban friends. Since then Arlene has stopped making her pickled garlic but I would love to make it again. 🙂
My best garlic experience is saving and planting the largest garlic bulbs that I harvested from my garden and seeing how my garlic crop gets bigger every year.
I would LOVE to win this prize. I had garlic in the fridge and it sprouted, so I was going to plant it. But then I saw online that a lot of times it doesn’t grow properly. I was going to plant some this month!!!
Good time to try a softneck garlic variety.
I’ve been growing garlic for years, and don’t think I’ve ever had an unsuccessful garlic crop! Would love another variety to try!
Best experience eating garlic: roasted whole and put on pizza. It is the best pizza topping (besides cheese)!
My best experience with garlic was discovering it growing in the forgotten garden at my rental house. We used it on homemade pizza, and it was fantastic!
Always planted until we moved; forgot both falls and I have some great raised beds! Thanks for the chance!
I forgot to tell you my most successful gardening experience. I grew 10 varieties last year in a small 4 ft. x 4 ft. plot. They all flourished and I am now trying to taste them all and pick the one I like best.
I live in So. California so I figure I gotta grow garlic to keep all the vampires away. Thanks
I love growing garlic. It is easy and very satisfying. I haven’t planted mine yet. Gotta get going!
Early California garlic should be a good variety to plant.
We put garlic in nearly everything (including roasted garlic on buttered, toasted french bread). But one of the best things we ever made that showed off the garlic was homemade pizza. Tomato sauce spread over the dough, sprinkled with herbs from the garden, thinly-sliced garlic, then cheese and a mild sausage made in town. Ready to bake, awesome to eat!
this summer was my first successful garlic experience. i planted enough cloves to get about 60 heads of garlic! enough for myself, family and friends to enjoy as well as some to plant for next year!
I put garlic in all sorts of dishes, but my biggest “aha!” moment was when I finally learned how to peel it easily: cut off the ends, lay it on its side, lay the flat side of a knife blade over it, and smoosh! Voila! All the paper is off in one shot!
My best garlic experience is in processing it with ginger and then freezing in Tablespoon quantities. It is always ready for Indian, Asian or other meals.
I love garlic and I certainly eat my share (maybe more). This past summer we were having problems with deer eating some of my flowers, so I made a concoction of garlic and hot peppers in the blender with water, strained it, then sprayed it on the flowers. Voila!!! No more salad buffet for the deer! I have also heard that if you plant garlic around and within your garden, you won’t have much of a problem with deer. I plan on trying that next year.
Hi – I grew hardneck last year for the first time. I like it because I think it is a better keeper.
Jackie
I have never grown my own but I have pickled garlic and it turned out really good
First attempt at planting garlic this year—got 2 garlic bulbs; split them apart into the individual cloves; took all the skin off the cloves and planted. THEN watched video where I saw NOT to take the skin off the cloves.
Ready to do it right—-hope I win
I am just learning how to grow herbs/veggies/plants, etc.. would love to try and grow these and use something that actually came out of my garden and not use something that has pesticides or genetically enhanced bleck on it.
Being from Belgium, we LIVE for garlic and simply couldn’t cook without it! And, although we plant a lavish and very successful vegetable garden twice yearly, we’ve never tried to grow garlic, interestingly enough! We would LOVE to start and winning this package would be a wonderful way to start. I hope we win!
I leave the scapes and use the curly stalks in floral arrangements. They’re pungent, but people notice their unusual shape.
I cook with garlic every day… it’s great for the heart and the liver, which is helpful for my husband. Living in Kentucky, we don’t get many different varieties. If I visit a local Whole Foods, I usually get your run of the mill variety, which is fine. I’d love to try different varieties to see the different tastes. There is, however, ALWAYS a small bowl of roasted garlic w/ olive oil in my fridge, for those little items needing that sweet yummy taste!
Garlic success, one year I did grow a good crop of garlic and braided it. Did not eat it all before it dried up. What do you do with too much garlic? Dry it.? Have not had another good crop since. Need to win this to try 4 types. Curious about the kelp.
I’ve only tried growing garlic once and my elderly neighbor decided the leave were too close to the fence and reached through and broke all of them pushing them over. 🙁
My best garlic experience is when I pickled it. I have done it three ways now. I have done very spicy garlic, Italian style and then another pickled garlic using a different brine and jalapenos as well. They are versatile and delicious. You can use them in cooking, with a bloody Mary, toss them in a salad and much more. I was pleased!
I have had good success with hardneck garlic, I would love to try soft neck, the braids are gorgeous.
I love using garlic cloves on roasted leg of lamb. Also, love to make garlic bread.
I’ve never grown the softneck variety … scapes from the hardneck are soooo good, but I’d love to try! I love the tips and your blog!
Getting ready to plant my biggest garlic bed yet. Hopefully yields will surpass my most successful year when I had enough to braid; just a simple one. My husband was so excited her showed everyone that visited our house
i have found crushing several cloves (nearly a full bulb in many cases) into a freshly made pot of soup (typically a homemade stock veggie, but sometimes a chicken soup with a bone mineral broth) provides not only a delicious taste, but also a huge help to an inflamed gut. garlic is so helpful to the immune system that it should become a staple to our diet.
Have planted garlic for the last three years. It’s become a yearly tradition. Last year they were smaller than expected so hopefully I figure how to avoid that this year. Any suggestions?
Hoping to win!
Love, love, LOVE garlic in our family…but haven’t grown it in a few years. Thanks for the inspiration to add it back into our growing plans this year.
Love garlic; hope to win.
only grew garlic last year, harvested about two months ago. grew it in four places, with entirely different results and am learning a lot: one location, no direct sunshine, all cloves rotted away. second location, all garlic plants overgrown with other annuals. I’ve just pulled out everything else growing there, and my garlic greens are getting stronger quickly. third location, interplanted garlic with other alliums. everything was undersized, in part because I planted so late (January 2012), in part because of nitrogen deficit. fourth location: success! large harvest. full sun, mulch, routine weeding, regular watering.
Thanks for offering this giveaway!
My most successful garlic cooking experience was when I baked it in the oven for the first time. I lightly brushed a few cloves with olive oil and put it in the oven for about 15 minutes. The smell was incredible and the whole house had the beautiful aroma. When I took the cloves out of the oven, I squeezed them out of their skin and onto the top of a baked tomato. I added a little salt and pepper and it was to die for. Yum!
Thanks for posting about softneck varieties. I’m also in California so it helps to know they are supposed to do better in this state.
First off, LOVE the name of this blog! I would love to have a beautiful garlic braid from my garden.
I am getting ready to plant a “garlic sampler” to give away to friends next year. The more varieties, the better. Thanks for participating in this give-away. Love your blog! My best experience with growing my own is last year, when I braided it for the first time. Worked great!
I love garlic – easy to grow and beautiful. Yay for Garlic!
Since I have only grown garlic once, I have to say that it was the most successful consider I threw some store bought cloves in the ground and had a great harvest. Would like to try other varieties this year!
I’ve only grown garlic one year, but I was pleasantly surprised how well it did. My gardening time has disappeared of late, but I’d like to try garlic again.
Love garlic, never thought about growing it until now!
Would love to try growing garlic for the first time.
Garlic always goes into my Sunday gravy, aka pasta sauce. Makes the kitchen smell like happiness.
I love cooking roasted garlic and spreading it on fresh sourdough. Definitely a success!
My most successful garlic experience was when I dared to cook a chicken recipe that uses 32 cloves of garlic. No that’s not a typo. It was delicious.
My last attempt at growing garlic was, sadly, pretty unsuccessful! However, my best garlic experience is spicy chicken-garlic soup. So delicious, and cures anything and everything!
My best hint for growing great garlic – get a soil test report. I live in Maryland and I got mine through the University of Delaware. Submit a sample of your soil and they will analyze it. I specified that I wanted to grow garlic and also stay organic, and they gave me a soil report targeted for garlic growing, with a list of soil amendments I needed. The basic test is only ten dollars! Note that different regions of the country need different types of analysis procedures, so be sure to use a “local” soil testing lab. Good Luck!
Garlic rules!
I have grown garlic from what I ASSUME you are calling scapes — the little bulblets that grow in the pods at the upper ends of the growing plant? And I have no idea what variety they were, but they were good and grew easily. I have been thinking of trying some specific varieties to see if they were better, less/more garlicky, etc. I haven’t much room for gardening, so rather intersperse it in my flower beds.
This is a great idea – I LOVE all garlic – planted Music last year. Want to try them all!
Roasted Garlic cloves with a touch of olive oil mixed together on fresh italian bread, oh yum!!!
I have been researching and trying to learn about growing garlic for my family=D I would so love a chance to win this great package but even if I don’t I’m glad to have the info from your post!
Thanks bunches=)
I have never grown garlic before, have the perfect spot in my garden to start my addiction. I do make a delicious Thai chili dipping sauce (main ingredient; garlic).
I’m not saying I’m a garlic nut. But I have been planting and growing garlic for over 10 years now. It’s always been one of the easiest crops to grow and doesn’t need alot of space in the garden either. Be careful though or you too might end up like me and grow 200-300 head of garlic each year.
Grow it every year.Supply entire family
Would love to win some more!
Dutch
Last year, I planted 8 cloves of garlic from a head purchased at TJ’s and enjoyed cooking with the wonderful heads of soft neck garlic this past summer. I can’t wait to try different varieties!
Garlic is a staple in our cooking, since we follow a Middle Eastern diet by heritage. My 93-year old mother always grew garlic in her gardens every season! I’m excited to begin to grow my own!
I finally grew garlic successfully this year. it was great!
I use garlic quite a bit in cooking but have never tried growing it. I would love to win this terrific combo pack! Thanks for the opportunity!
That might be the best garlic braid I’ve ever seen. I’ll have to try some soft-necked garlic next year, so that I can make my own. 🙂
My most successful garlic experience was last year. I planted many different organic varieties and ended up harvesting several pounds of large garlic heads. I had more than enough for the season with plenty to save for planting this year (which I am getting ready to do this coming week).
Last fall, a close friend died. He was elderly. We were like family and I had lived with him but had moved out some years. I had to get all of my things I had at his home while cleaning his place of all of his things. That lasted over a month. I was lugging around a lifetime of his belongings up and down, in and out, across town. It began in September and through October. By the time I was done, my bronchial tubes were in spasm from the weather change and the dust. My chest was so tight, I could not breathe. I had to get into bed with my heating pad. But I ate as much garlic as I possibly could eat, day after day and night after night. I might have been sick almost two weeks. Yet, usually if I began having bronchial asthma attacks and tightening of the chest, in the past, even two years ago, I have been known to stay sick all winter. But this really was amazing. I was exhausted and really was not sure I was going to get my strenght back for the winter. Now, I take what my own Grandfather used to tell me serioulsy, “Eat this (alliums-onions and garlic) honey. It will keep you from getting sick.”
roasted along with tomatoes for sauce…
Glad to have another opportunity to win MORE Garlic! 🙂 Thanks!
I never knew there was so much to know about the humble garlic bulb.
I’ve never grown a garlic that could be braided. Great garlic flavor, winter growth, and beauty too! What could be better?
Garlic — the first time I sauteed it … amazing!
This year was the best — perfect June, sans torrential downpours let us keep the garlic in the ground a few weeks longer (and bigger), then slow roasting a few heads , popping them out of their skins and smearing like butter on still-warm homemade French bread…no idea what the rest of the meal was! The garlic bread was the star.
Thanks!
My most memorable garlic experience was years ago when I was a young adult. My grandfather was a gardener and the he is the one responsible for my love of gardening. He loved his tomatoes and garlic. He planted them every year all around the house at the foundation, the way some people have hedges around their house. Grandpa never planted a tomato plant without it’s companion cloves of garlic. He taught me the value of companion planting.
He got sick that year, just before time to plant. He had started his tomato seeds weeks earlier and just didn’t have the energy to plant them out. For a week, each day he put off planting his sets. Then he died, peacefully, in his sleep.
I planted his tomatoes alone that year. Just the simple act of planting his tomatoes helped me deal with his passing. Grandma said it was “the way of things”, that each must die but another life is born. But Grandma told me NOT to plant the garlic…. and one did not question Grandma.
At his funeral, Grandma carried a satchel. After the service she gave each of their closest friends and each person in the family 2 cloves of garlic. She said on was for them to plant at their house to remember him, the other was to plant at her house to remember her.
At Grandma’s house, after the funeral, the entire family shared a single trowel…from the toddlers to Grandpa and Grandma’s remaining brothers and sisters. We went around the house to every one of the planted tomatoes. Dressed in our finest Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes, we each planted a single clove of garlic.
I always think of grandpa when I plant tomatoes, but planting garlic reminds me of grandma, and the ties that bind a family together.
I have never had success growing garlic indoors; but outdoors there is no problem. I would like to be able to grow garlic all year long.
Awesome prize package!
Like to try a new variety every year.
Nice to learn about your we site. Love garlic and hope to be a winner!
I have never grown enough to get me through the year. I think I had 3 garlic bulbs in the ground last year. My best garlic time was when my friend had about an acre of garlic and would give me huge braids of it. I use it in most meals, usually with olive oil. Love it and my husband eats it raw all the time. I eat it raw in my Caesar Salad recipe. We love it!!!
My garlic growing experiences have not been stellar, though I’ve enjoyed trying different varieties. I was happy to see the Peaceful Valley video, so I will tweak my technique to get better yields. But probably my best garlic experience was cooking a Catalan garlic soup that uses garlic by the head, not the clove! That was when I discovered that the intensity of garlic is not additive. You can add quite a bit more, and still just have good garlic flavor, not overload. Anyway, have to include the recipe, because it is truly an exceptional soup:
6 large slices of good day-old bread
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup minced garlic (about 16 large cloves) (or more!)
1/2 cup minced shallots (plant those too)
1/4 cup fresh thyme leaves, well packed
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp paprika
8 cups good chicken stock
1/2 flavorful dry Spanish sherry, such as amontillado
Garnish with fresh thyme sprigs if you like
Preheat oven to 400 deg F. Toast the bread for about 15 minutes till golden on both sides. Grind finely in a food processor.
In a large pot, heat oil and saute garlic and shallots over low heat for 10 minutes till very soft. Stir in thyme and bread, salt, pepper, and parika. Saute 2 minutes, stirring. Add stock, and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low, and simmer covered for 30 minutes. Stir in sherry and taste for seasoning.
Serve hot garnished with thyme sprigs in each bowl if you like.
Yum! Thanks to Marimar Torres for this recipe from The Catalan Country Kitchen.
I grew three types of garlic in my square foot garden last year with great success. I also braided my harvest–it didn’t come out as pretty as yours hopefully better luck this year. 🙂
I enjoy growing garlic but I never have enough. I enjoy roasted garlic spread on toast with goat cheese. Homegrown garlic is the best.
Roasted caramelized garlic with red chili – but never grown my own garlic..
Last year was a very successful year for productivity – and that’s despite bulb & stem nematodes causing havoc! I was very happy with my harvest.
Raised beds garlic loves them!
This is actually my first time growing garlic so I’m not sure I have a successful growing story yet! One of my cooking and storage techniques is canning garlic in oil after mincing or squashing so you have fresh tasting garlic all year. It’s also wonderful to use the oil as a base for stirfrys as it holds a ton of garlic flavor!
Love that garlic on my toast with cheese and free trade coffee for breakfast. I read that Napolean’s army marched on the power of garlic each day. It is amazing all its nutritional ingredients.
I must say that my most successful garlic experience was about 10 years ago when I finally decided that I’d give cooking with Garlic cloves a try. I’m so glad I did, because now it gets thrown in just about every meal I cook!
I put in California early white for the first time this year… I’ll be using the braiding video at harvest time!
thanks for doing this!
This will be my first time growing garlic. Thanks for all the growing tips and the opportunity to win! 🙂
I never fail when I roast garlic!
I have a lot to learn about garlic! Didn’t know there were hardneck and softneck varieties…will enjoy the challenge of planting them and seeing for myself. I love garlic in just about everything….
It’s garlic mashed potato season! Can’t wait to plant some.
We love garlic and use it in most if our food: soup, salad, sauces, crepes (frsh vegetable crepe) and marinates. But the best one is when we mix it wihen we fry peanuts. Garlic adds to the flavor and taste. It is great to serve at parties and it does not even need a dipping sauce/
I love using fresh garlic in my garlic butter injection for chicken, turkey, prok, beef and wild game. It adds great flavor and moisture to sometimes dry meat.
Garlic makes everything better! I’d love to try to plant it.
I love making roasted garlic and tomato sauce. Delicious!
I recently tasted Black Garlic (fermented) for the first time. I had read about it but couldn’t find it anywhere. It has a sweet and tangy flavour and I am eager to get some garlic planted so I can make some. It is a slow process as it takes about 4 weeks to ferment. Definitely worth it though! Trying to get my garden ready for the winter and have to find some good organic garlic now. Great planting to whoever is the lucky recipient of your generour offer 🙂
I’ve been using garlic for more years than I’d like to admit. I use garlic in my homemade spaghetti sauce,meatloaf, spaghetti with garlic, olive oil and hot pepper flakes, the list goes on. Went to the garlic festival in Co Spgs a few weeks ago and got my garlic there, 3 different varieties. This year is my 1st time to grow my own garlic. I planted last weekend (hope it’s not to soon). Can you tell I am excited. Any growing tips?
I’ve never tried to grow garlic. I tried to bake it once, it didn’t work at all. Usually, I just sautee it with butter, mushrooms, and onions and then cook my beef in the mixture.
lisa(at)vetteklisa(dot)com
My most successful garlic experience was this summer. It was the third year I’ve planted garlic and I had my best harvest with the biggest bulbs. I soaked them before planting, added some bone meal in each hole, and planted where I had legumes the year before. I’m sure I can continue to improve, but I’m awfully proud of those tasty little bulbs!
I don’t have any garlic at all. Would like to start growing some. They are very good for your health. Would love to have some to grow. Thanks
Though I have not yet mastered the art of saving seeds, garlic is one plant I can “recycle” and regrow. My first season I planted 50 cloves. The taste was so sweet, fresh and amazing, I planted 100 cloves the following year, taken from the prior seasons crop. This year, following the advice of “plant the best and eat the rest” we have planted over 200 cloves. Garlic stays good a long time and makes a great house gift whenever we visit friends.
I have to say my most successful experience with garlic is roasting it with olive oil and spreading it on buttery toasted bread. It tastes like a million bucks, but is easy-peasy to do.
My most successful experience with GARLIC has yet to come! I have a 4×4 planter set aside for my second year of successful crop. Shopped at groworganic.com as my first planting came from the Garlic Festival last year.
Love garlic. I don’t have much space so I think growing it in a container would be perfect for me.
This is my first year growing garlic. So far, I’ve been most successful sauteeing it with green beans and butter.
We grew a little bit of garlic last year, it was successful although only a couple of bulbs. We hope to plant enough for the year like Christy said in 7 SF using the Square Foot Gardening techniques. So excited!
I tried roasting garlic once and it actually turned out! I was surprised and pleased at how easy it was.
Never have tried growing garlic before – anxious to give it a go! My garlic success all revolve around cooking – we use it all the time here. I LOVE it in salsa especialy!
Can’t wait to try garlic this year! Thanks for the giveaway!!!
I’ve just cleared my garden out for the winter, and have a great spot for growing garlic. I’ve never tried it before, but it sounds great!
This will be the first year I try growing my own garlic, so all this info is very useful. thank you!
I’ve got nothing to report in the growing department, as this will be my first year planting it. But we use a lot of garlic. My favorite at the moment is using roasted garlic in my roasted pepper hummus. A little smoother and warmer than when I make it with raw garlic.
I haven’t had much success with the garlic growing, but I have high hopes for the future… My most successful garlic experience is in roasting and eating it: take off outer layers of skin to expose bulbs, cut off tops 1/4″, drizzle the clove with a bit of olive oil, set in a small covered crock in a 400 degree oven for half an hour, and voila! Ready to eat.
Homegrown garlic is fabulous–and we eat a lot of it. Probably too much. I never realize how much garlic we eat until we’re at an event like Meet the Teacher, where not everyone indulges in garlic like we do. Awkward moments.
I planted 8 varieties, and they are wonderful. But–last year, we built raised beds where I typically plant my garlic, and to finish the project in time for a farm tour (we represented the suburban micro-farm), I had to sacrifice my garlic. So sad. I tried grow bags, but the harvest wasn’t the same. Now that the big garden is back in action, I can’t wait to plant and harvest garlic–I miss my homegrown garlic! And–I’m excited to watch your video for braiding–this year, I WILL learn to braid. I will, I will! 😉
Thanks for hosting this great giveaway!
I have tried growing the soft neck kind of garlic and my first year was good I just didn’t grow enough I would love to try different kinds
With my first baby due in December I was hesitant to plant any cold weather crops that would require a lot of attention. Garlic seems to be the perfect solution. Keeps my garden going, produces something that doesn’t need to be prepared/eaten right away, and our family loves garlic. The perfect solution!
I love growing garlic! We use garlic in almost everything we eat. Luv it!
My favorite way to use fresh garlic (beyond ordinary culinary use) is as an ingredient in home remedies. When I want antibiotic properties I mince large amounts of it on a dish of pasta. It’s strong but delicious.
Unfortunately, my greatest garden success is usually zucchini. I like zucchini ok, but I don’t love it and it’s disappointing that it’s so successful for me. Why not pumpkins!??!
I love how roasted garlic turns a lovely caramel color and becomes so soft you can spread it on a piece of bread like butter! Of course, I also appreciate its antibiotic properties and have used raw garlic remedies to ward off many a winter bug.
Love fresh garlic.
Please make my garlic dreams come true!
So far my only successful garlic experience is as a spice. My garlic planting has been destroyed by peacocks. I need to try again.
I was so surprised the first year I grew garlic because it was so easy! Just plant the cloves in October and leave it alone until July! Next year I want to cook with the scapes, too.
garlic is one of my favorites. count me in please.
Oh course my most successful garlic experience would be in the eating of it! I have planted sprouting cloves here and there but didn’t get much from it–probably due to planting them during the wrong time of the year…
we received garlic scapes in our CSA harvest basket this year… my first time cooking with them was a glorious success… would love to harvest them myself while waiting for the garlic heads to mature… what a bonus…!!
I have never grown garlic. But now I am going to try!!! =)
I`ve grown garlic couple of years now, since one year my mum ate all the gloves so we had nothing to plant. I got some gloves from my aunt, some local Estonian variety. It was getting quite well but this year the moisture ruined almost all of our crop, so I’ve starting from the beginning again.
I’ve only grown garlic at home twice, the first time the heads were tiny and the second time they were a bit larger. I love buying interesting varieties of garlic at farmers market and using them in cooking. Scrambled eggs with garlic scape pesto is especially pleasing. The garlicky flavor combined with the cheese getting a little crispy really makes for a great combination.
So excited about this giveaway. Just getting started with gardening….and wanting to grow garlic as my first try at it. This would be fantastic to win!! Thanks so much!!
I haven’t grown garlic yet but want to. My best experience with garlic has been using it in my homemade Chili recipe, the addition of garlic makes over-the-top delicious!
My most successful experience was last year with a head that I bought at a farmer’s market in Northern California- I planted it when I got back home to SoCal, along with some sprouted cloves from the pantry. I didn’t know when to plant garlic, so it got planted in August! I was really disappointed when it didn’t grow, but as the weather cooled off, it sprouted, and last spring I was rewarded with 8-10 heads of garlic, earlier than all of the other “farmers” I know. Don’t ever give up on garlic plants- they are little workhorses for sure! 🙂
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This is an awesome giveaway!! Thanks!
We put garlic in everything. It tastes so good and is so good for you.
My most successful experience with garlic has to be using garlic in many of our family’s Italian recipes. We love garlic!
I can see I have alot to learn about growing garlic!
Always planted an unknown hardneck, had to move to the city but am back in the country starting my gardens from scratch.
I just planted a supermarket type a few weeks ago as an experiment!
I planted garlic two years ago for the first time. It is so easy to plant and grow! It turned out beautifully and I watched a youtube video on how to braid it (from you) and gave some away as gifts. It was amazing.
I’ve been growing garlic for years. It is one of my favorite plants to grow on our farm. My favorite experience was using the garlic scapes this year in pesto.
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nice! I like garlic in everything. I tried to grow it last year but the weather hasn’t been that cooperative!
We use garlic in almost everything we cook, but my family’s favorites are garlic chevre (from our goats’ milk) and garlic alfredo sauce. We planted garlic for the first time this year and are looking forward to harvesting them. Thanks for hosting this give-away.
Sonja Twombly of http://lallybrochfarms.blogspot.com/
Trying to pick my best garlic moment is as impossible as choosing one single best-ever book that I’ve read, so I’ll mention a favorite first time: After moving to Maine, I discovered these fabulously twisty green things that smelled utterly enticing. I asked the woman at the farmers’ co-op what they were and she told me they were garlic scapes. I’d never heard of them before, much less eaten them. Needless to say, they are a seasonal favorite now in our household!!
I think my most successful experience with garlic is going to be cooking that garlic kale recipe you posted! Thanks.
I LOVE garlic!! So much so that the first time i went to the Stinking Rose Restaurant as a teen, i ate sooooo much garlic that the next day, my mom asked me what the delish leftovers i brought home as the entire house smelled so good the next morning. “Uh, mom…i didn’t bring anything home….you must be smelling me!”
I’d love to grow some more as last year’s OVF crop got blight and didn’t do so hot. Any resistant strains you can reco?
Well I have never grown garlic before but I would love to try growing it! I have bought garlic from some local growers and chopped it all up and preserved it in my fridge for weeks, to add to lots of recipes 🙂 I hope to win!!
Me Me! I am currently on food stamps but survived July almost 100% from my vegetable garden, until receiving some assistance. (I was laid off 2 years ago from a corporate situation, after 30 years). I will somehow find garlic to plant again this year, maybe from this giveaway or maybe the grocery store. Either way, couldn’t live without it. Thank you all for such a fun chance!
this is my first season growing garlic, so these’d make a LOVELY addition! cant wait to get these cloves in the ground as soon as this RAIN lets up!
Thank you for the giveaway. I’ve only tried garlic once and didn’t know what I was doing at the time, so my most success was that out of 18 planted garlic 3 of them came up. I’m sure I’ll do much better next time!
Sauteed in olive oil with mushrooms and sweet peppers.
While digging up full-size garlic bulbs may be the most satisfying moment in the garden, they need a lot of love. Since their leaves don’t really branch out, garlic is pretty susceptible to weeds taking over.
My best luck with garlic? Planting it in the closest bed to my house, so that I dig up the weeds first every day.
I enjoy making my own croutons with italian herbs, evoo and plenty of garlic…. I bake both sides of the bread at 250 for about 20 minutes (or until they are nice and brown) and store them once cool. Fills the house with a great italian scent and gives me lots of options for cooking later if I want to use them for salad additions, soups or as bread crumbs….
My favorite garlic experience is making garlic scape pesto in the spring. Yum!
have never planted garlic before, but am trying a cold weather garden this fall for the first time and would love to include it!
My most successful would be cooking and eating! We all love Bagna Cauda and have a favorite recipe from the Stinking Rose restaurant in San Francisco. I definitely would love to try my hand at growing and I have a spot in the garden picked out. Thanks for the opportunity to win this fantastic give-away!
I love to put garlic in everything….can’t think of a particular experience. My fav dish with garlic is shrimp scampi-I’m pretty successful at cleaning my plate 🙂
My best garlic experience usually comes when I use A LOT of it! I love making a simple tomato sauce with butter, fresh tomatoes, and lots of garlic!
I grew garlic for the first time this past growing season. I loved it! It was very satisfying. It was a hard neck one but I don’t know what variety it was.
This is my first year growing garlic. The kit would be a great help. Thanks for a great give away!
I haven’t been successful…yet. I do plan to plant garlic this year though and hope I win. Thank you.
Last year I grew garlic for the first time and harvesting it was one of my most satisfying gardening moments ever. I only wished I’d planted a whole lot more of it.
I’ve been interested in growing garlic. This would be a nice start!
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Just yesterday I was making pesto with my basil that’s been in the garden all sumer and has bolted. The flavor was pretty intense. I just added some garlic to tone down the basil flavor some and got some amazing pesto.
I’ve never grown garlic before. This would be a perfect intro. Thanks!
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Putting fresh garlic into my husband’s homemade spaghetti sauce is the best!!
Never grown garlic. Would be fun to win.
Thanks.
Andrea
Haven’t had any experience with regular garlic. My husband planted elephant garlic several years back but I didn’t end up with anything. This package sounds like a great way to start trying garlic again