I've grown my own garlic for the last 20 years in western Washington, USA, zone 7 (I'm at 1,000ft elevation) in a cool Mediterranean climate; wet winters, coolish, dry to very dry summers. My soil is a very well drained clay loam. Planted in Fall, it winters over, sprouting mid-winter. It's never been set back by freezing weather at my location, although it can be damaged by sleet and hail. Garlic seems well suited to my climate. I can't remember ever having to water it. Our weather usually dries out at about the time garlic is heading/maturing. Harvested in July, I still am using fresh garlic from the crop planted Fall 2019. The sugars in the garlic begin to change to starch as it ages in storage, so the consistency changes, but it is still very usable. If I had to choose just one variety to grow (I grow about 8 different varieties, all hardneck) at my location, it would be the variety, Music. Duganski also does well here, as does Spanish Roja, but the Roja doesn't store as long as the former two. I grow it anyway, for the flavor. I save the best formed and largest heads as seed garlic to grow the next season. Contrary to common advice, the hardnecks store as long as the softnecks for me. This from my own trials and experience. Plus, I prefer the larger cloves common to hardnecks. Garlic is not difficult to grow (easy for me to say). I encourage anyone with even just a little space to try growing a few to see how it works for you. Different varieties do well in different parts of the country/world. It has the same growth cycle as tulips (but it is not planted deep, like tulips), if that makes it seem less daunting to the uninitiated. It does prefer to grow in the more northern latitudes. Full sun is a requisite. If you want garlic heads on the larger side, they do require fertilization. Without the fertilizer (I use organic) you'll still get garlic heads, they'll just be on the smaller side. Best of luck. Be safe. Be well. Mike On Tue, Apr 14, 2020 at 5:22 PM Randall P. Linke <randysgarden@gmail.com> wrote: > Sadly very little garlic is actually still grown in and around Gilroy. The > intensive cultivation invited the infection by, I believe a soil fungus > which put an end to most cultivation in the area.. Most of the garlic > processed in Gilroy now is trucked in from other places. > > On Tue, Apr 14, 2020 at 5:16 PM Jane McGary <janemcgary@earthlink.net> > wrote: > > > Very many varieties of garlic are available as seed or offsets from > > territorialseed.com . I haven't grown it because I'd rather buy garlic > > grown in California, where it is well suited (see Gilroy Garlic > > Festival, held in a town where you can smell the garlic processing as > > you drive by on the freeway), rather than here in soggy Oregon. > > > > Jane McGary, Portland, Oregon > > > > On 4/14/2020 4:17 PM, Paul Machado wrote: > > > Hi Elaine, > > > I just grow mine in my local soil that is sandy loam. > > > I plant mine in the fall here, also zone 9, 95374 > > > Atwater, I would believe has about the same types of soils as mine. > > > Email me at farmerguys08@gmail.com if you need additional info. > > > All the best, > > > Paul > > > > > > http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… > > _______________________________________________ > > pbs mailing list > > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > > http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… > > > > > -- > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… > _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/…