Do you want to learn more about gardening methods? Check out our information pages.
Organic Garlic Quiz and Questions
What garlic 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 premium gourmet 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.
Why is Gourmet Garlic only Available in Fall and 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.
The taste that inspires passion
Gourmet Garlic Quiz
What gourmet garlic variety is perfect for you? Take this quiz and find out! For each statement you mark true,
check out the garlic variety abbreviation (S) (RR) (GC) (T) (GR) that you should try.
S = Siberian
GC = Georgian Crystal
GR = German
Red
RR = Romanian Red
T = Thermadrone
1) I want garlic with extra health benefits (S)
2) I like fiery hot garlic (RR)
3) I like mild
tasting garlic (S or GC)
4) I like garlic that looks really pretty (GC or S)
5) I want to raise really huge garlic (GC or S)
6) I
want garlic I can braid (T)
7) I want heirloom garlic (GR)
8) I want the easiest to raise garlic (GC)
9) I want garlic that grows
really well in the deep South (T, S or GC see our Southern Garlic Grower’s Guide)
10) I want a garlic to compliment my roast meats
and game (GR)
11) I want the perfect garlic for hot Italian and Asian dishes (RR)
12) I want garlic that tastes great in raw dips
(GC or S)
13) I like mellow deep flavored garlic (GR)
14) I like crisp, clean tasting garlic (GC)
15) I like a deep, true garlic flavor
(T)
16) I like garlic with really big cloves (S, GC or RR)
17) I want garlic that is super easy to clove (GR)
18) I want to experiment
with different culinary flavors (GR, GC, S, T and RR)
19) I like French cooking (T)
20) I want garlic that can tolerate a little neglect
(GC)
Above: Patty pulls a load of weeds. Below: We recycle our weeds as goat and cow food!
When Should I Havest Garlic?
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. 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).
If you harvest too early the garlic cloves will not be formed and may have poor color. If you harvest too late the bulb will be dried out and will fall apart (storage quality will be poor).
Softneck garlic 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.