Garlic Giveaway from Peaceful Valley
Last week I was thinking to myself that it was time to look through all my garlic and pull out the nicest bulbs for planting. Garlic is one of those crops that I’ve been growing since I first started gardening. It’s so easy to grow and brings such great reward.
Earlier this year, my interest was piqued when I read that softneck garlic stores longer/better than hardneck garlic. As much as I’ve read in my lifetime, I have never heard this tidbit of information before. Hardneck varieties of garlic are all that have been grown at Chiot’s Run, because it grows better in colder climates. Though, I have seen softneck garlic at the farmers market, so I know it can be grown successfully. Most of what I see is hardneck though.
Over the past few years, I’ve grown most of my own seed garlic as well. I do occasionally long to grow new varieties for flavor and to see if I can find ones that do particularly well in my climate/area. Your local farmers market can give you an idea of which varieties will do best, ask around, or just try a few that sound interesting.
With so many questions about planting garlic in the comments of this post, I wrote a Garlic Planting Guide over on the Your Day Blog.
When Peaceful Valley contacted me about doing a garlic giveaway I obliged, knowing one of you would love to win their garlic combo pack for your garden. I’ve talked about why I love Peaceful Valley before, so I’m happy to support a company I appreciate (they aren’t paying me to do this post, though I did get some softneck garlic to try).
What can you win?
A Garlic Combo Pack – Comprised of 1 head of Elephant (conventional), 3 heads of California Early White (organic softneck), 3 heads of Purple Italian (organic hardneck), 3 heads of Russian Red (organic hardneck), 3 sets of French Red Shallots (organic). Should yield approx. 50 plants, needs approx. 6-8 sq ft.
A Quart of Liquid Kelp – Cold-processed liquid kelp Enzymatically digested, concentrated liquid extract of California Bull Kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana), harvested from kelp beds in the Pacific Ocean off the Northern coast of CA. Freshly harvested kelp is rapidly processed at low temperatures, using naturally occurring enzymes isolated from the kelp, to digest and liquify the chopped kelp into a dark liquid extract.
a 10 gallon smart pot – which you can use to grow your garlic in if you don’t have enough space in your garden.
1 Garlic Twist (clever kitchen gadget that minces the cloves when you twist it; easy to use and clean)
and a print of your garlic variety.
So why kelp? Peaceful Vally has a great video that recommend soaking your garlic bulbs overnight in kelp before planting. I used kelp before, but I have soaked them in a baking soda and fish emulsion mix. You can bet I’ll be doing experiments by soaking a few and not soaking a few to see how they grow (similar to my remove or leave the scape experiment). If you’d like to read my post on planting garlic including a few of the varieties I grow, head on over to this post.
All you have to do to enter to win is to comment on this post. Contest will end at midnight PT on Wednesday, October 17. contest closed…check back for more great giveaways in the future.
Do you grow garlic in the garden? If so, what’s your favorite variety?
If you’d like more chances to win, there are 7 other blogs doing this same giveaway, with different varieties of garlic.
Peaceful Valley’s Organic Gardening Blog for ‘Bogatyr’
Gardenerd for ‘California Early White’
A Suburban Farmer for ‘Purple Gazer’
North Coast Gardening for some ‘Russian Red’
Western Gardeners for ‘Purple Italian’
Living Homegrown for ‘German Red’
Dirt Du Jour divas are giving away French red shallots
I’d love to try growing this in my garden!
to susan ingle's comment
I haven’t grown garlic before, but really want to this year. I have been meaning to buy some seed garlic, but all the choices have been overwhelming and I keep putting it off.
to Kelly's comment
Thanks for the timely post on this. We were looking for a good place to get garlic seed from.
to Bill's comment
garlic is my favorite addition to soups and salad dressings, not only for its great flavor, but also for the medicinal benefits.
to Rosina Lapp's comment
I was planning on planting garlic for the first time this fall. This has been my first year gardening and I’d love to add garlic to the mix.
to Kirsten's comment
We grew garlic in our former house, but in the past year built and moved into a new, very efficient home. We missed the planting season last fall since the construction wasn’t quite finished. This fall I would love to plant some garlic!
to Heather's comment
I grew garlic for the first time this past growing season. I loved it! It was very satisfying. It was a hard neck one but I don’t know what variety it was.
to cynthia's comment
I love German garlic, but would love to try Peaceful Valley’s varieties
and the liquid kelp package. Thanks for sharing
to cynthia's comment
I would love to try the Russian garlic and the special pot for growing.
Sounds like a great idea!
to allegra's comment
My dad use to plant garlic for us and I would love to start that tradition for us. Who doesn’t love great garlic!! Thanks Suzy.
to cyndi's comment
Not yet, but it is on my list of veggies to try this year! Would love to win so I can get a head start on accomplishing this goal!
to Kat's comment
Do the tops (greens) look different while growing?
to Sandy's comment
I’ve tried growing garlic from supermarket bulbs with very little luck. They sprout, but don’t really grow any bulbs. I assume it’s a combination of them being supermarket garlic and the fact that the garden I put them in has crappy soil. Working on that last part. :-)
I’d like to try more storage food like potatoes, garlic, onions, carrots etc. I just honestly haven’t had the money for the sets. A trial pack would be awesome!
to Justin's comment
Garlic is one of my favorite things to grow. This year wasn’t the best for it, but I grew Music and Red Chesnok. Looking forward to trying new varieties. Thanks for the opportunity!
to krakatoa's comment
I always buy garlic from my local farmer, Snakeroot Organic Farm. But he is always telling me it is so easy to grow!! Maybe I should try . . .
to Stone soup's comment
P.S. LOVE the braided garlic, so complete!
to Stone soup's comment
This was my second year growing garlic. I tried both hard- and soft-necked varieties this year, and by far, the hard neck did much better. I did plant waaaay too late last fall (actually winter) so that may have had something to do with it.
to Wendy's comment
I just planted garlic yesterday. Last year I planted organic Spanish Roja that is very nice, but a neighbor gave me some of her large beautiful garlic to plant this year and I haven’t got the name yet.
to maggiewann's comment
We are moving from a condo to our first house this week, I am so anxious to have a real garden instead of containers, it would be great to win the garlic to start my garden off this fall.
to Sarah's comment
Very generous giveaway! Thank you Susy, and Peaceful Valley, for the opportunity at a chance to win. We would love to experiment with garlic growing in our greenhouses.
to whit's comment
I’m trying garlic for the first time this year. Thanks for the great giveaway!
to liz's comment
I’ve never grown garlic & have not had a very successful garden the past 3 years. We have LOTS of pests that continue to eat up my crops. But I keep planting & trying & hoping I’ll find ways to keep the pests away :) These varieties of garlic sound great. I’ll be trying some out I think.
to Lisa's comment
Love, Love, Love garlic…..and if I were to grow my own, it would be even more loved!
to Sherry D.'s comment
I’ve never grown garlic, and would lI’ve to try
to Paula's comment
We eat a ton of garlic, so last December I decided to plant a few heads of store bought garlic, surprisingly they turned out great. I’m definitely planning to plant more garlic this year.
to Lee's comment
What the hey—I love garlic and our last harvest did poorly so I’d love to try even more!
to misti's comment
I just planted hardneck and softneck garlic, both of which came from my grandpa’s garden. I’m eager to see how well each type grows.
to Songbirdtiff's comment
thisll be my first season growing garlic and im really looking foward to it. i’d hoped to get a few varieties from gourmet garlic gardens based on your recommendation but every one i was interested in had been sold out already (2-3 months ago!). I figured I’d try it with supermarket garlic this year and maybe splurge on some better stuff next year. this’d certainly be a delicious gift!
to Troy R.'s comment
What a great give-away! Garlic is something I also grow every year, and have had great success at. My favorite variety is Premium Northern White, a hard neck variety, as it always gives me the largest bulbs. Enjoy you blog!
to Margie Clyde's comment
I usually grow 150 bulbs each year, to make pesto and eat throughout the winter. This year I had a white mold growing on much of my garlic and won’t be able to replant any of my bulbs, so I’ll be starting from scratch (too bad – this garlic was really acclimated to my garden!). It would be fun to try some new varieties – hope I win!
to Joan's comment
I grow brown garlic way down here in Texas. It’s often hit or miss–they always grow, but bulb development can be small, likely due to the heat, even in the cooler seasons.
What a neat giveaway!
to margaret christine @ notes from maggie’s farm's comment
awesome giveaway! I grew garlic for the first time this past year, but it didn’t go so well because I didn’t water it enough in the drought/heatwave! I’m game to try again though.
to janet's comment
Tried growing for the first time this year from an organic farmers market bulb I enjoyed and was quite successful. It would be nice to know the variety I put in the ground next time though!
to Kandis's comment
I’ve never tried to grow garlic, but would love to give it a shot.
to Stephanie S.'s comment
Hi! Thanks for the giveaway! I love growing garlic, but have not heard about soaking the bulbs/cloves before planting. I’ll try it next fall. Hope I come up lucky on this giveaway. Thanks for the opportunity.
Jean
to Jean Hermann's comment
This is the first year I have planted garlic in my garden. Would love to try some other varieties also.
to Amy B's comment
Extremely nice giveaway. I love your braids of garlic. So pretty. I’ve grown several different types, but this fall, I’m planting organic Shantung Purple, Chinese Pink and Shilla, a Turban type. We shall see how they do.~~Dee
to Dee Nash (@reddirtramblin)'s comment
Garlic is one of our failsafe crops. We only grow hardneck too, though.
to kristin @ going country's comment
I’m trying Nootka Rose this year.
to Ms. Tweetley's comment
I’ve tried growing garlic but I’ve always had small bulbs. I have never had the chance to plant them in the fall so I’ve read that spring planted garlic produces smaller results. With the new house, I finally have a chance to fall plant a few things and garlic is on the list.
to Marcia's comment
My wife and I have just started gardening this year and would love to give garlic a try!
to Jonathan's comment
I have never grown garlic before, but would love to try!
Zone 8a, Coastal NC Master Gardener. Am growing different kinds of kale and brussell sprouts in preliminary garden trials for MG program this fall.
to Nancy K's comment
I’ve only tried softneck garlic and would love to try hardneck this year!
to Tiffy D's comment
What a generous giveaway they’ve offered! I have been discussing growing garlic in my garden, this would be a great way to give it a try!
to Kim of Sakura Sundries's comment
These are all varieties I’ve never heard of/grown before – exciting! I’ve grown Duganski, Nordic Hammer, Spanish Roja, Chinese Pink, Music and Susanville – this was my first year for most of them, and it was interesting to see how some did great, and some didn’t hold up well. I THINK the Duganski is my favorite, but I haven’t done any raw tastings or side-by-side in recipes – really should try doing that.
to Jeph's comment
Garlic would be great to try, also have a small yard so would be intereseted in being able to grow garlic with the smart pot.
to Katie's comment
Kelp? Interesting. It would be amazing to grow all those varieties of garlic! I just picked up 2 varieties at Seeds Savers this past weekend while visiting there.
to harper's comment
I’ve always planted hardneck varieties which have stored extremely well. Never knew softneck stored better!
to Hailey's comment
I grow one softneck and one hardneck type, and have had good success storing both. Toward the 1 year mark they tend to get dried out, but are still useable. Gets me looking forward to the next harvest!
to Jane's comment
YEAH! Love garlic! This year I am working with a girl scout troop and we are going to plant garlic together next month. Thank you for such a great giveaway.
to Sarah H's comment
I have never grow garlic but this party has inspired me to not only give it a try, but to do a full fall/winter gardent his year!
to Mindie's comment