July and August: The Time to Pre-Order Garlic

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Though it seems just yesterday that we were harvesting garlic from our gardens, it’s already time to start thinking about next year’s crop. If you decide to order your seed garlic directly, July and August are good times to submit your pre-orders to reserve your garlic for October delivery. Garlic growers tell me that orders are filled in the order received, and earlier orders generally get the larger bulbs.

Garlic cloves that you plant to grow new bulbs are referred to as “seed garlic”. It can be purchased as individual cloves, but most often seed garlic is purchased in whole bulbs by the pound. For example, a 1/4 pound might include one bulb or two bulbs depending on the variety.

Speaking of variety, it is a common misconception that we can only grow particular kinds of garlic here in North Texas. While it’s true that certain kinds of garlic perform better in different climates, I do not believe that North Texas gardeners should limit what kinds of garlic they try in their own gardens.

During the 2020 growing season, I grew both Softneck and Hardneck garlics. All produced bulbs.

Here is what I grew:

Softneck
Early Red Italian (Artichoke)
Mild French (Silverskin)

Hardneck
Music (Porcelain)
Russian Red (Marbled Purple Stripe)
Lotus (Turban)
Romanian Red (Porcelain)
Island (Rocambole)
Persian Star (Purple Stripe)

A great way to learn about the different varieties of garlic and how they will perform in your garden is to order a sampler pack. I ordered the Deluxe Garden pack from Filaree Farms.

Garlic seed is available from Botanical Interests and Filaree Farms, among others.

For more information about growing garlic in North Texas, read our guide.

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Callie Works-Leary

Founder of The Dallas Garden School, Callie is an expert garden educator with 17 years of personal and professional gardening experience. She specializes in growing food, small-space gardening, managing community gardens, and plant propagation. She has an MBA from Southern Methodist University, a bachelor's degree from Skidmore College, and served as a horticulture intern for the Dallas Arboretum & Botanical Gardens. Callie is a member of the Native Plant Society of Texas, The Herb Society of America, the National Garden Bureau, and is a Certified Texas Master Gardener.

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