Hi Tom,

My garlic plantings here in NJ were almost identical to yours: 3 varieties of hardnecks from local farmers and two varieties of softnecks, largest cloves planted with 6" spacing in October and covered with a chopped leaf mulch. All 200 plants emerged and grew about 6-8" above the mulch before going dormant for the winter. Only difference is I used 10-10-10 fertilizer combined with a couple of inches of compost instead of all organic.

Come Spring the store bought softnecks actually died (never had that happen before!), but the remaining softnecks (Inchelium Red) are all standing fine.

Today all of the plants, hardneck and softneck, look great and equal, standing about 30" tall with thick stems. The only difference is the Incheliums are a slightly paler green than the hardnecks.

I think the store bought softneck varieties may be highly variable with results depending on the variety, fertilizers, pesticides etc. used as they were growing. Also the store bought types are generally not local and may have come from radically different climates such as China. The softneck Inchelium Red I planted came from local farmers and is doing very well, as did last year's crop. Hence the differences you are seeing may not just be a question of hardnecks versus softnecks, but the specific softnecks you planted.

Tom

hi tom,

i was under the impression that all commerically purchased softneck garlic grown in this country came from gilroy california. if not all, certainly 90% must come from gilroy. gilroy is sure different than new england.

seems now some garlic is being grown in china. china is about 33% larger than the usa and occupies the same basic latitude. china has deserts, frozen wastes, temperate and tropical climates. i have no idea where they grow garlic but it is softneck so i'd assume it is in a more southern latitude than we are in at approx 40 degrees North.

i'd hoped the softneck would do well since they have such a long storage ability. 90% of the hardneck is music because they can store for so long 5-6 months but some people report 9 months in storage. if the softneck bulbs are a bust i will not grow them again and just try different hardnecks.

hard to believe that harvest is about 60 days away.

tom

Hi Tom,

Use to be that most supermarket softnecks were California Early or California Late, but I understand that a lot is now coming from China (like everything else!). I used to plant only supermarket garlic and never had a problem, until this year. This time the planting heads were unusually large and white and I suspected they might be Chinese. They grew fine in the fall, but 58 of the 60 I planted did not survive the winter. My Inchelium softneck, on the other hand, are tall and thick. No more anonymous supermarket varieties for me!

Tom