Garlic

I was late pulling out my garlic just as I was last year. Somehow I got confused because every advice on many garlic dedicated web sites gives different visual signs of maturity. Some say that leaves have to be 60% yellow or brown, some 80% brown, some 2 sets of leaves at bottom…and of course, there is about 2 weeks difference between yellow and brown leaves. Next year they will be out on July 15^th and that’s it. I will be cleaning them today and then hang them in garage with small fan on for next two weeks.

Last October I have planted German Porcelain, Music, Irkutsk (Siberian?) and cloves from Amish farmer that I grow for last 3 years. The other varieties were new for me this year and were bought at Stratford Garlic Festival. The Music has largest sized bulb and Irkutsk has smallest bulbs but I expect it to be the hottest of the bunch. I assume that next year the heads will be a bit bigger since they will be grown in same location and apparently garlic likes to grow in same patch of soil. Somehow, the Porcelain and my Amish are almost indistinguishable; same shape and color. Interesting thing about Music is that it was developed from Italian garlic on a former tobacco farm. Our house sits on former tobacco farm, maybe that’s why this strain did so well in its first year. Here is an excerpt from Seeds of Diversity Canada publication:

“Music is a Porcelain strain with large, easy to peel, bulbs, a strong flavor and large cloves. It is the most commonly grown type in Ontario and is now generally recognized as the Ontario garlic. It was named for Al Music, who was also a founding member of Garlic Growers Association of Ontario (GGAO) in 1985, developed the strain after getting out of tobacco production in the early 1980’s.”

In 2 weeks I will do my very own “Rye Bread Toast Test” to see how strong each variety is. I will make 4 toasts using rye bread and then rub the clove of garlic on one side only. Each toast will have one strain only. I guess that in order to be objective I will have to rub the garlic exact number of times. There is no way that I’ll be able to go out and talk to other people after this test J!

I will report on results in 2 weeks.