Russian Red Garlic seed stock from Peaceful Valley Farm

Russian Red Garlic

Details

  • Type: hard neck Rocambole garlic
  • Color: bulb wrapper has a brownish cast
  • Maturity: ?
  • Size:
    • “A Grade = 1 7/8″ and larger bulbs”
    • averages 6-8 cloves per bulb, per PVFS
    • 8-13 cloves per bulb BCMAFF
    • approximately 7 bulbs per pound
  • Yield: ?
  • Taste:
    • Heat: strong & long-lasting
    • great flavor
    • “strong garlic flavor with a warm sweet aftertaste”
    • “raw flavor is intense and big up front, with some sweetness along with a slight and pleasant bitterness”
    • “the perfect garlic flavor” per Chester Aaron
  • Disease or Environmental Tolerance:
    • cold tolerant
    • can withstand soggy winter soils much better than others
  • Storage Quality: fair

Notes:

  • easy to peel; thin bulb wrapper
  • scape has a double loop BCMAFF

Sources: (where to buy)

Results from My Garden:

  • 2010-2011: planted 10 cloves 10/13/11
    • White bulb wrappers; red cloves
    • 6-8 cloves per head
    • harvested 5/18/2011 (217 days)
      • 8 heads (2 hit by s&b nematodes)
  • 2011-2012: 1 lb seed stock = 6 heads = 41 cloves (only planted 31 of them)
    • planted 11/19/11 at 4″ spacing, rows 18″ apart (23 cloves)
    • planted 11/28/11 at 6″ spacing (8 more cloves)
    • stem & bulb nematodes hit in mid-April
    • harvested 6/2/12 (190 days)
      • 29 heads out of 31 cloves planted (94% survival rate) 
      • 4.6 lbs total; 2.5 oz each, about 8 cloves each
  • 2012-2013: 1 lb seed stock ($15.19) = 7 heads (up to 13 cloves each) = 84 cloves
    Russian Red garlic seed stock (2012)

    Russian Red garlic seed stock (2012)

    • some of the seed stock was rotted or too small, so only 53 were planted
    • planted at 4″ spacing, biointensively (11/4/12)
    • harvested on 6/13/13 (221 days)
      • 50 heads out of 53 planted (94% survival)
      • total weight was only 1.6 lbs (not enough water?) average size: 1/2 oz each
  • 2014-2015: 1 lb seed stock ($14.99) = 9 heads (~72-117 cloves) = 1.8 oz/head
    Russian Red Garlic seed stock from Peaceful Valley Farm

    Russian Red Garlic seed stock (2014)

    • seed stock was pretty ratty looking…overripe (okay for planting) with small cloves (small cloves lead to smaller heads)

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