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Creole Garlic, Cuban Purple

Creoles, a Silverskin subvariety, have purple cloves and beautiful bulbs.  Sometimes called “Mexican Purple” garlic, unlike other garlics, these varieties prefer a mild winter climate.  Sweet tasting and long-lasting.  One pound averages 80 plants.

From Ted Jordan Meredith author of The Complete Garlic, A Guide for Gardeners, Growers, and Serious Cooks:

“’Rojo de Castro’ was introduced to the United States from Cordoba, Spain, in 1991. Although this cultivar originated in Spain and not Cuba, the marketability of a garlic that seems to be associated with Fidel Castro has apparently been too much to bear—and understandably so, as the market is often unkind to good cultivars with less appealing names. In a convoluted twisting of nomenclature, this Spanish cultivaris now commonly marketed under the name ‘Cuban Purple’.

Regardless of the name it bears, it is a fine cultivar, with sweet, rich character and minimal heat. It grows very well in some of the hottest southern growing regions where other garlic cultivars struggle.”

Type Spacing Planting Depth HZ Maturation
Creole 6-8 in. 3-4 in. 5-9 180-240 Days
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Porcelain Garlic, Rosewood – 4 oz

Porcelain Garlics are hardnecks.  Most varieties have pure white skins and cloves so large that they are often mistaken for elephant garlic.  The individual cloves are usually crystal white, hence the name Porcelain. One pound of bulbs averages 40 plants. Porcelain Garlics produce the tallest plants of all garlic cultivars. Some Porcelain plants can reach a height of 7 feet.

Rosewood was introduced into the United States in 1984. It originated from the Moldavian Institute for Research in Irrigated Agriculture and Vegetable Growing by way of Poland. Unlike most garlic strains capable of producing true seed, Rosewood produces flowers with yellow anthers.

This garlic has excellent flavor, but initially is not hot. However, it finishes with a spicy bite that is not overwhelming, but enhances the flavor of whatever it accompanies, especially garlic bread. It is definitely a cold weather garlic that does not do well in mild winters.

Type Spacing Planting Depth HZ Maturation
Porcelain 6-8 in. 3-4 in. 1-6 240-270 Days
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Silverskin Garlic, Nootka Rose – 4 oz

Silverskins which are softnecks, because of their superb storage capabilities, are the most familiar garlic varieties.  They have the highest yields and do well in a variety of climates.  There are usually 12-20 cloves per bulb and one pound of garlic averages 90 plants.

This great Silverskin comes from Nootka Rose Farm on Waldron Island in Washington St ate. The name, Nootka Rose, refers to a native, Northwestern America, wild rose that grows throughout the region bordering the Nootka Sound. The rose is deep pink in color. Nootka Rose garlic is quite popular because of its vividly colored clove wrappers which are often deep brown with red tips. However, this coloration comes from the soils around the Nootka Sound and does not hold up when the garlic is grown in other regions of North America as you can see from the photo.

This garlic is not hot, but the flavor is strong and pleasant. I get 10-12 cloves per bulb with some smaller cloves in an interior layer that I eat and never plant. Because of its reliability, this garlic is a joy to plant.

Type Spacing Planting Depth HZ Maturation
Silverskins 6-8 in. 3-4 in. 5-8 180-240 Days

 

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Silverskin Garlic, Mild French – 4 oz

Silverskins which are softnecks, because of their superb storage capabilities, are the most familiar garlic varieties.  They have the highest yields and do well in a variety of climates.  There are usually 12-20 cloves per bulb and one pound of garlic averages 90 plants.

Mild French is a misnomer in every way possible. It is not French. It is not mild.
Mild French is one of the few garlic varieties that can withstand the heat of the Southeastern and Southwestern United States.

It was introduced by the legendary seedhouse, Porter & Sons, of Stephenville, Texas (1912-1994).   Porter & Sons spent more than 80 years developing fruit and vegetable varieties that would flourish in the hot dry environment of Texas. Mild French was one of its most successful introductions.

When grown in the north, the garlic becomes quite hot, actually, at times, unbelievably hot. It retains its heat when cooked. This variety grows taller and matures earlier than most Silverskins. It is a softneck.

Type Spacing Planting Depth HZ Maturation
Silverskins 6-8 in. 3-4 in. 5-8 180-240 Days

 

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Silverskin Garlic, Sicilian Silver – 4 oz

Silverskins which are softnecks, because of their superb storage capabilities, are the most familiar garlic varieties.  They have the highest yields and do well in a variety of climates.  There are usually 12-20 cloves per bulb and one pound of garlic averages 90 plants.

This heirloom garlic was brought to the US by Italian immigrants sometime during the 19th century. Sicily is believed to be its originating home. In our gardens this year, Sicilian Silver was the outstanding garlic. The bulbs were larger and heavier than our Romanian Red, Chesnok Red and Red Toch. Some were the biggest bulbs I have ever seen.

The flavor even when baked starts out complex, but then the heat kicks in and explodes. This is one incredible garlic if you like hot garlic.

Type Spacing Planting Depth HZ Maturation
Silverskins 6-8 in. 3-4 in. 5-8 180-240 Days

 

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Turban Garlic, Shandong Purple – 4 oz

The Turbans are an Artichoke subvariety which is slow to bolt and matures early.  They should be harvested with the Asiatics.  The large bulbs are striped, and the cloves are pink to brown in color.  One pound of bulbs averages 60 plants.

Shandong is a garlic that was widely grown in the Shandong Province of China, but the cultivars available in the US today were originally purchased in Beijing by the garlic collector, Greg Czarnecki. The clove wrappers are a lovely pinkish purple or dark tan. The flavor is traditional garlic except when consumed raw. Raw, this garlic is flaming hot.

Type Spacing Planting Depth HZ Maturation
Turbans 6-8 in. 3-4 in. 4-9 180-240 Days
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Turban Garlic, Red Janice – 4 oz

The Turbans are an Artichoke subvariety which is slow to bolt and matures early.  They should be harvested with the Asiatics.  The large bulbs are striped, and the cloves are pink to brown in color.  One pound of bulbs averages 60 plants.

Red Janice was collected in 1983 at an elevation of 460 feet at Narazeni, a village about 20 miles from the Black Sea in the Republic of Georgia. It matures slightly later than most Turbans and is a better storer than most Turbans. The cloves are exceptionally fragrant and when baked are slightly sweet and a little spicy. Unlike most garlic, the flavor of Red Janice starts hot when raw, but continues to build.

Type Spacing Planting Depth HZ Maturation
Turbans 6-8 in. 3-4 in. 4-9 180-240 Days

 

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Creole Garlic, Rose Du Lautrec – 4 oz

Creoles, a Silverskin subvariety, have purple cloves and beautiful bulbs.  Sometimes called “Mexican Purple” garlic, unlike other garlics, these varieties prefer a mild winter climate.  Sweet tasting and long-lasting.  One pound averages 80 plants.

Rose Du Lautrec is the legendary “Pink Garlic” of France. It has been grown for centuries in southwestern France where legend has it that a traveling merchant could not pay for his dinner and so offered to trade the rare, stunningly colored garlic. It is the clove wrappers that are pink, not the cloves themselves which are creamy white.

This garlic is well known in France but very rare in the United States. The bulbs produce 8-10 cloves and have good flavor.

Type Spacing Planting Depth HZ Maturation
Creoles 6-8 in. 3-4 in. 5-9 180-240 Days
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Creole Garlic, Aglio Rosso – 4 oz

Creoles, a Silverskin subvariety, have purple cloves and beautiful bulbs.  Sometimes called “Mexican Purple” garlic, unlike other garlics, these varieties prefer a mild winter climate.  Sweet tasting and long-lasting.  One pound averages 80 plants.

Aglio Rosso is a fairly new introduction to the United States. It comes from Sulmona in the Abruzzo region of Italy. The bulbs produce

Type Spacing Planting Depth HZ Maturation
Creoles 6-8 in. 3-4 in. 5-9 180-240 Days
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Rocambole Garlic, Carpathian – 4 oz

The Rocamboles, hardnecks, are the most widely grown of the heirloom garlics.  They possess outstanding flavor, but are not good storers.  There are usually 6-11 cloves per bulb.  One pound of bulbs averages 60 plants.

From the Carpathian Mountains of Southwest Poland, this is a very large garlic which sometimes produces double cloves.  Bulb wrappers have thin copper veins and purple blotching.  Flavor is tangy, hot, spicy, strong and deliciously garlicky.

Type Spacing Planting Depth HZ Maturation
Rocambole 6-8 in. 3-4 in. 1-6 240-270 Days
Rocambole Garlic, Carpathian – 4 oz Read More