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’ve grown garlic before. The first year the heads were tiny and the second year they were a bit bigger. Learning a bit more every time. My favorite is any kind of hard neck garlic because the scapes look so pretty visually and then taste great in pesto.
to Olivia's comment
Would love to plant garlic. Thank you for the give a way. So many uses for garlic, culinary to medicinal…
to Diana Felgenhauer's comment
I just started growing garlic last year, its awesome, I’m so happy to have the space to grow a lot of garlic. I have been thinking about getting some seed garlic so this sounds great.
to amber jackson's comment
I’m looking forward to trying my hand at growing garlic!
to Marianne Bodine's comment
I have been growing garlic since 2009 and this year I finally get a really good harvest. Thought it would last until spring. I grow some local Estonian variety mixture of different varieties. Last week I wanted to start planting them, but most of my crop was simply rotten inside looking great outside! So I have to start all over again. Probably to moist this year in my storage room…
to Heli's comment
This was my second year growing garlic and it is so easy – I don’t know why more people don’t grow it! I have not pre-soaked my garlic bulbs, so I look forward to seeing the results of your experiment.
to Marianne's comment
I haven’t had a chance to grow garlic until our most recent move but I used to grow large patches of it in my flower beds. I love garlic!
to gerrie's comment
I have not had much growing garlic but i will not give up and will continue trying!! xoxo
to Michelle yeaton's comment
Hooray for garlic!
to Robin's comment
I had so much fun with supermarket garlic the first time I grew it…!! This time around I plan to grow ‘Music” and an Italian garlic I got from the farmers market… oh, and a Peaceful Valley combo, hopefully… ;) thanks for the chance…!!
to Iris Garrott's comment
I LOVE GARLIC because it is nutritional as well as medicinal. Right now I have some garlic cloves sitting in a pint jar of honey infusing…waiting to be used for a cold/flu remedy. I need to grow my own so would love to win some! (c:
to Cindy Freeman's comment
I’d love to win a garlic combo pack! It’s about time I planted some garlic again in the garden…
to Garden Goddess's comment
I’ve been wanting to try my hand at growing garlic – thanks for the giveaway!
to Kathy M's comment
I enjoy the whole process of growing garlic – planting the cloves, cutting the scapes, digging it out, letting it cure, and of course, the cooking and sharing! So far I’ve only tried hardneck, purchased from the farmer’s market. I’ve grown Spanish Roja and Chet’s Italian, but I didn’t mark my beds, so I’m not sure which is which! I would like to try softneck, too, but so far my hardneck harvested in June is storing well. (The ground was wet and some of the bulbs were starting to split, which is why I pulled them out before my normal July harvest.)
to Ginny's comment
This will be the first year we plant garlic. We use massive amounts of garlic in our cooking, don’t know why we never tried growing it before! I never heard of soaking in fish emulsion, so I’m going to try soaking some in that to see what kind of difference it makes.
to Sue's comment
Thanks for the great giveaway! Cannot wait to plant garlic again this year.
to Sixballoons's comment
thanks for the giveaway!! count me in please
to tam's comment
Garlic is essential. I love the smell of it, cooking with it, and enjoying it in the garden. I have 8 different books on cooking with garlic but generally I toss it in with most everything that I cook. I love reading garden blogs cause I almost always learn something new.
Several separate gardeners in my family tried all three varieties and found that for raising, storing, and using garlic here in the Midwest (Minnesota/Wisconsin) the hard-neck beat hands down. Sadly my sister Jo in Minnesota, on the family farm, had a disastrous year and lost nearly all her hundreds of pounds of garlic. Mostly the German Red that she grows. She can not afford to purchase enough to make up even a small percentage of the years of growing and saving garlic for replanting. I am a praying that I can help in some small way to get her some planting stock.
to Barbara's comment
Would love the chance to win some garlic.
to Kathleen Doerr's comment
With my first baby due in December I was hesitant to plant any cold weather crops that would require a lot of attention. Garlic seems to be the perfect solution. Keeps my garden going, produces something that doesn’t need to be prepared/eaten right away, and our family loves garlic. The perfect solution!
to leililia's comment
I’m growing garlic for the first time this year. So far, it’s just elephant but I’m hoping to pick up more at my local IGC this weekend.
to Modern Mia Gardening's comment
Growing garlic is the best. Low effort, high reward!
to jesss's comment
I grow whatever I have in the cupboard! I would like to be more organized and grow new varieties.
to Ellen's comment
I use garlic almost every day. I have decided to try and grow it myself and have been doing a lot of research about the types to try and the methods to grow them, so this contest is great!
to Chris Boyer's comment
We are huge fans of garlic! I think it is perfect to have around at all times but especially in the winter when it can help fight seasonal illness. Thank you!!(:
to Crystal's comment
I grew some this past spring, don’t know what it was, it had sprouted on my counter, but I didn’t have much success, the new heads were miniscule with tiny doll-sized cloves.
to Emily's comment
This sounds interesting, I think I will try garlic this year. thanks
to Mike George's comment
I have not grown garlic yet but would love to try it!
to Salome Honeycutt's comment
I haven’t grown garlic before, but I’ve been meaning to this year or next. I am interested in the elephant variety and how the flavor differs from traditional garlic. Good day!
to Michelle's comment
I’ve grown garlic but I don’t know what kind. Would love to try some different varieties!
to Hilary's comment
I grew softneck garlic for the first time last year (in Oregon) and then gave a lot of away before our move across the country to Ohio. What we did eat was fantastic (and we’ve heard good things from our friends) so we will definitely be planting again! And it’s true-it was the lowest maintenance crop we’ve planted yet!
to Eileen's comment
Love the contest as this provides more blogs to learn from. I can make room for more garlic. Not picky.
to Azucena Gee's comment
I haven’t grown garlic in the garden, but I’ve made a vow to try and grow one new thing a year. This year it was leeks (and I’ll probably do them again (and maybe from seed). Next year it might be garlic, but I’m also excited about the possibility of shallots.
to EL's comment
I think everyone should grow garlic. It is the first thing to come up in spring. It is easy to grow, productive, easy to store and so tasty.
One of my favourites is Susan Delafield but I am branching out and trying Fish Lake and German Porcelain and, like you, a soft neck this year. I also grow some random variety whose name I have lost track of. I just save the biggest heads and plant them every year.
I would love to win some more garlic but I doubt you can ship it to Canada!
to Sarah F.'s comment
I’ve grown garlic the last three years. I’m a new gardener and it’s one of my favorite things to grow because I’ve had such good luck with it (and I love garlic!). I’m embarrassed to admit I have no idea what kind I’m growing. It was left over from a previous gardener and I’ve just saved some cloves and replanted in the fall. Last fall I took your advice about soaking in the baking soda and fish emulsion. Stinky, but I really think it made a difference – thank you!!
to Becky's comment
I don’t have any garlic at all. Would like to start growing some. They are very good for your health. Would love to have some to grow. Thanks
to Bonnie's comment
I’ve never tried to grow garlic. We just recently moved to 3 acres in Missouri from a city lot in Texas. I want a garden and would love to start with garlic.
Thank you!
to Lisa Cox's comment
LOVE GARLIC! Just bought my very first house, and starting from scratch with all the gardening and landscaping next spring, but trying to get started on a few things this fall. Garlic would be a great start.
thanks!
to Deanna Garner's comment
I’ve never grown garlic but will try it this year. I love your blog and am glad I found it. It feels so relaxing and calming to me, and so much good information! Thanks for the opportunity to win such a great package!
to Linda S.'s comment
I’ve been using garlic for more years than I’d like to admit. I use garlic in my homemade spaghetti sauce,meatloaf, spaghetti with garlic, olive oil and hot pepper flakes, the list goes on. Went to the garlic festival in Co Spgs a few weeks ago and got my garlic there, 3 different varieties. This year is my 1st time to grow my own garlic. I planted last weekend (hope it’s not to soon). Can you tell I am excited. Any growing tips?
to Grace's comment
Variety is really important to me in my garden, so I’d love to try this combo pack.
to Samantha's comment
I was hoping we would be into our new house early enough to plant garlic, but doesn’t look like we will find something and be moved until December. Which wouldn’t be a problem, but I suspect we will have a hard frozen ground and probably a few feet of snow up here in North Dakota by then.
to Carrie's comment
I have never grown garlic because I have never found any sound advice for growing it. I would love to try groing some.
to Marie Husnick's comment
I not planted garlic but would love to try it. I have always planted green onions in a pot. Love having them just outside the kitchen. This would make a great addition.
to Judy Sundermann's comment
Growing a garden in south Texas is hard becasue the weather is crazy but I do my best. I would love to try Garlic….I have tried lots with some success here and there but never garlic. Hey there is a first time for everything!
Thanks
to Jessica's comment
I love garlic. What a great thing to have in the vegetable garden.
to Maureen's comment
I have a bed ready, just need the garlic.
to Lorraine's comment
I don’t think I’ve ever grown garlic…hope it can be container grown, as the wildlife in my area requires everything edible to be in a container. I call guerrilla gardening, and the past 2 years the varmints have be winning all the tomatoes.
I’d love to try different garlic types–didn’t know there were more varieties besides what’s in the stores and elephant garlic.
to Jill Patterson's comment
That’s the beauty of garlic, not many animals will eat it. There is a container included in this prize pack so you can grow it in a container though, just in case!
to Susy's comment
Organic garlic for my garden!
to Laura McG's comment
I plant garlic and then I usually for get about it. But I would still like a chance at winning.
to Jenny C's comment