GARLIC
The Maine Potato Lady
https://www.madrivergarlicgrowers.c...-varieties.html
Garlic – The Great Traveler
Posted by admin in Edible Gardening
Garlic IntolerantThe history of garlic can almost be described as the history of human migration. Garlic is native to Central Asia, specifically the Caucasus region between the Black and the Caspian Seas, and over many millennia it has been carried to almost all corners of the world. Garlic flavours many of the world’s cuisines. It is steeped in folk lore and legend. (Everyone knows that wearing garlic is the best way to keep vampires at bay!) Folk wisdom attributes garlic with a variety of curative properties, many of which have been proven by contemporary science. Garlic is mentioned in ancient Egyptian, Greek, Indian, and Chinese writings as well as the Bible and Koran.
Garlic was first brought to North America by immigrants from Poland, Germany and Italy, but most of the varieties we use now came into the US in 1989. In the 1980’s the USDA tried to get permission to collect new garlics in the Caucasus region, then part of the Soviet Union, but were denied because of military installations in the area.
Red Russian garlic
Red Russian garlic
In 1989 the Americans were finally granted permission to enter the region, but were heavily guarded and allowed to travel only at night. They travelled along the old Silk Road and purchased garlics from local markets, often naming them for the towns and villages they were found in. (Red Russian garlic, one of our most popular varieties, was actually brought into BC by the Dukhobors in the early 1900’s and is now considered to be a BC heritage variety.)
Garlic, or Allium sativum, comes in two basic types – hardneck and softneck. Hardneck varieties (var. ophioscorodon) usually grow a woody flower stalk or scape out of the centre of the bulb. They do best in cold, damp climates. Typically a bulb develops four to ten large cloves. Flavours are strong and often spicy and complex. Most hardneck garlic does not store well and is best used fresh. Hardneck varieties come in three different types: Rocamboles, which have thin parchment-like skins, and are easy to peel, Porcelains which have thick tough skin and do store well, and Purple Striped, named for their distinctive colouring.Garlic Types
Softneck garlics (var, sativum) evolved from hardneck varieties and grow best in warmer climates. Bulbs keep well and typically contain multiple cloves. They don’t produce flower stalks unless they are stressed. Softneck varieties come in two different types: Silverskin and Artichoke. Silverskins have soft pliable necks that lend themselves to braiding, lots of small cloves and spicy flavours. Artichoke garlics have larger but fewer cloves and a milder flavor. Most of the commercially grown garlics found in the grocery store are softneck varieties.
Elephant garlic (Allium ampeloprasum) is actually more closely related to leeks than to garlic. It produces a small number of very large cloves of mild flavour. It needs a good, long, warm growing season to grow well.