Grey Duck Garlic
Commonly Asked Garlic Questions
What garlic or clove size should I order?
When should I plant hardneck garlic?
Why is gourmet garlic only available late summer to early winter?
When should I harvest hardneck or softneck garlic?
Why do my garlic leaves have yellow tips?
Does hardneck garlic need vernalization (exposed to cold)? Yes, for more information on this topic see Southern Garlic Growers Guide.
What garlic or clove size should I order?
There is a big size difference between the largest and smallest bulbs.
For premium seed garlic: the larger the clove you plant, the larger the garlic bulb you will harvest. Large or medium sizes should be used for planting in order to harvest the largest tastiest bulbs next summer. Large bulbs will normally produce humongous garlic. The small garlic has smaller cloves and will grow smaller bulbs.
For gourmet cooking garlic: people who love garlic and most gourmet restaurants prefer the ease and convenience of the premium large or medium garlic. These bulbs have huge cloves that are ideal for cooking or roasting and super easy to peel.
For great taste and lower price: those who want gourmet taste in a smaller more economical package find that our small bulbs taste just as good as the larger ones. In addition, some home cooks prefer the daintier clove size.
For green garlic: use the smallest cloves. Green garlic tastes best when it is small and tender. Green garlic is harvested in the spring before the bulbs develop.
When should I plant hardneck garlic?
For best results and biggest bulbs plant hardneck and softneck garlic in the fall after the first killing frost. For more information see how to plant organic garlic or how to grow big garlic. If you live in the South see special instructions in our Southern Garlic Growing Guide.
Why is gourmet garlic only available to buy in late summer to early winter?
Organic hardneck garlic is not harvested until late July or August. Like tree ripened fruit, we believe the best flavor comes from letting the garlic mature naturally in the field. After harvest, we cure our garlic in a large shady barn for an additional 4-6 weeks. Curing garlic is similar to aging cheese, it mellows the flavor and helps bring out rich variations in taste. This means our garlic normally ships starting in September or October.
When should I harvest hardneck or softneck garlic?
Harvest time depends on your climate and when you planted. Hardneck garlic should be harvested when 1/3 - 1/2 of the leaves are brown. Garlic bulbs will continue to grow as the leaves die back. However, at a certain point the bulb quality will diminish.
Above right: Steve harvests hardneck garlic. He is one of our fastest diggers and we are always happy when he helps with harvest!
Above left: Softneck garlic ready for harvest. Note how one has fallen over already and 3 leaves are brown.
Right: Hardneck garlic almost ready for harvest. About 4 leaves are brown/yellow. Most growers would wait until an additional 1-2 leaves are brown. Depending on the weather this could take up to a week.
Leaves on the garlic bulb grow down and wrap around the bulb to form a nice wrapper. As each leaf dies back the wrapper around the bulb loses a layer of skin. For the best results, you want to leave enough green leaves at harvest to have a nice wrapper on the bulb (at least 3-4 green leaves). About half the leaves should be brown.
If you harvest too early the garlic cloves will not be formed and may have poor color and size. If you harvest too late the bulb will be dried out and will fall apart (storage quality will be poor).
Softneck garlic AND weakly bolting hardnecks (such as Asian Tempest) should be harvested when 1-3 leaves turn brown OR it falls over. Softneck garlic will normally be harvested 3-4 weeks before hardneck garlic.
Why do my garlic leaves have yellow tips?
Yellow tips can be due to a nitrogen or sulfur deficiency BUT often they are due to heavy frost. Siberian tends to develop yellow tips even if other varieties appear green. For more information and pictures of frosted leaves see Garlic Report.
