Author Archives: ThePlantLady

About ThePlantLady

ThePlantLady.com is a library of gardening information compiled from many resources, including written texts, online databases, current research, and first-hand experience from farmers and gardeners. It includes growing requirements specific to each plant, as well as varietal information. My background in microbiology and chemistry allows me to tap into the scientific research being done today and digest it for the use of the home gardener or small farmer.

Silverskin Garlic

Silverskin Garlic Details Type: softneck garlic (Sativum subspecies) Shape: Bulb: tallish to elliptical globes Color: Cloves: white or pink blushed; hard to peel Leaves: often pale green, sometimes average green; generally very upright, sometimes droop at ends Bulbils: rare, but on topsets when they may appear from stress or cold winters Maturity: late (after all others) […]

Elephant Garlic

Details Allium ampeloprasum Type: Neither hardneck nor softneck; it’s a type of leek Shape: ? Color: ? Maturity: ? Produces solid seed stalk which doesn’t always curl –  Flower stalk should be cut off Very large flower cluster, but rarely opens fully and aren’t very fertile, thus propagation is primarily via clove Corms: very tough […]

Artichoke Garlic

Details Type: softneck garlic Shape: Bulb: flat to thick-flat or flat globe Cloves: plump, squarish Color: Bulb skin: off-white to dirty white or yellow-white; sometimes light purple blush; coarse to very coarse texture Cloves: milky-white Maturity: Maturity: early to medium early Size: Bulb: 2.25 to 3 inches Yield: Cloves: 12-18, up to 24 per bulb; hard […]

Music Garlic

Music Garlic

Details on Growing Music Garlic Type: hardneck porcelain (continental garlic) Color:  shiny white sheath pink-tinged clove skins Maturity: ? Size: 2″ and larger diameter bulbs 4-6 very large cloves per bulb Yield:  Taste: great classic garlic flavor slightly spicy incredibly flavorful Disease or Environmental Tolerance: “Disease resistant” per Peaceful Valley Farm  susceptible to Stem & […]

Continental Garlic

Details Continental Garlic is more of a general grouping of varieties, than a distinct variety, itself. Music is a garlic variety that is part of this group. Type: hardneck garlic Shape: Bulb: highly symmetrical; globe shaped; Color: Bulb skins: porcelain or purple-streaked; fine to slightly coarse textured Cloves often streaked heavily with dull but striking purple; […]

Rocambole Garlic

Details Type: ophioscorodon, or hardneck, garlic Color: Leaf: deep green or blue-green; moderately spreading and fan shaped Bulb skin: off-white with varying amounts of streaks in degrees of light to moderate purple; kind of coarse textured Maturity: midseason (ie, after artichoke garlic) Size: Bulb: fairly symmetrical, flat globe shaped, some irregularity; 2 to 2 3/4 inches Cloves: […]

How to Grow Garlic

Garlic is very easy to grow – and since it grows through the winter, they require little additional water, where I live in northern California. Botanical Information Taxonomy Allium sativum Allium sativum ophioscorodon = hard neck garlic Allium sativum sativum = soft neck garlic Allium ampeloprasum = elephant ‘garlic’ (actually a leek), also called Gigantum part of the […]