GARLIC SCAPES The scapes are the garlic's flower stem and are mostly associated with hard neck garlics. Before harvesting, hardnec k garlic typically sends up a scape which normally curls then straightens before the garlic is harvested (softneck garlic can scape when stressed). Semi-bolting hardneck types ( creole , turban , asiatic ) in milder-winter areas do not necessarily produce a scape. The garlic plant puts energy into forming the scape so many growers remove them to direct the plants resources into developing the bulb. We have found there is a direct correlation of bulb size and scape removal of around 10-30%. On the flip side scapes left during curing result in the bulb drawing more nutrients during the drying process and it is likely they will store longer. Different types of garlic are more affected if the scape is not removed. Creole , porcelain , rocambole , purple stripe types respond well to scape removal, producing larger bulbs while turbans and asiatics less so. In saying that, some growers believe rocambole is minimally impacted by scape removal. As a general rule, garlic types which produce the tallest, thickest and largest scapes will grow larger bulbs if the scape is removed. Some growers have found that by leaving the scape on during drying that the plant's bulbs are harder as well as storing longer. An example of a Turban scape is pictured below. We remove the scape before they begin to curl, before they are longer than 20cm tall. Some growers including ourselves believe the earlier the better. Other growers remove the scape once they curl. There is no scientific evidence to support either approach as to when to remove the scape. If removing the scape, do so on a dry day so the break can heal cleanly without introducing infection and disease. When you see the firm stalk rise up from the middle of the leaves snap (not pull) it off the stalk by hand (if the scape is small) or with secateurs below the umbel before it widens. If the scape is pulled, it may result in the pseudostem becoming weak and will let water down into the bulb. The scape can be sauteéd, be part of a salad or stir fried as mentioned under the eating section .

GARLIC GROWING GUIDE The ten steps of growing garlic Planting Planting is an exciting time in the garden, physically working the soil and starting new beginnings for your garlic crop. When to Plant When to Plant G arlic is generally planted in autumn, with the exact time dependent on your climate and the garlic group you are plan ting. The saying 'plant on the longest day and harvest on the shortest' is a rough rule of thumb which does not take account climate variations and garlic types. Check out the map and chart below to match your climate to the type of garlic you are likely to grow most successfully. Timing is a fine balance with nature, local microclimates and seasonal variability, and the best timing is not always achieved. For milder winters garlic is planted earlier and a bit later in colder areas. Garlic needs to be planted to send out roots before being struck with the winter extremes of driving wind, generally drier cooler air and chilling exposure. The strongly bolting hardneck garlics are more hardy in cold climates. Those in extremely cold areas should plant a month before the soil begins to freeze giving the garlic time to grow roots. Some growers in more mild, humid climates who get persistent garlic rus t (a fungi) plant earlier to harvest earlier thus reducing the impact of this fungi in the warmer months when rust can be prolific. Some try growing turban or asiatic garlic which matures and is harvested earlier than other garlics. However by artificially vernalising and planting early plants are more at risk of secondary shooting (witches broom) or results in smaller bulb sizes. Climate Zone Map Generally the first garlic to be planted are the semi-b olting garlics of turban , creole and asiatic . These garlics are well adapted to long seasons and milder winters because they are more domesticated. The strongly bolting garlics of porcelain , rocambole , standard purple stripe , marbled purple stripe , glazed purple stripe and the softneck artichokes should be planted a little later. Silverskins are the last to be planted in June-August depending on where in the country you live. Consider the for your climate zone, your local conditions and the type of garlic you are considering growing to decide the best time to plan t . NZ Garlic Climatic Zones MILD WINTER COOL WINTER COLD WINTER What to Plant What t o Plant First things first, plant garlic cloves not bulbs - c loves are the divided segments that make up each bulb. The clove skin is not removed. While it is possible to plant the entire bulb, bulbils or true seed (near impossible to find in NZ), the average NZ gardener plants cloves in their vegetable garden. If planting bulb ils for the first year you actually plant the m at the same time as cloves or you can also plant them in spring as well. Secondly, cloves are planted with the pointy end up. The stumpy end has the basal plate from which the root buds will begin to swell in autumn ready for planting. Plants will send down their roots from the basal plate deep into the soil in the cold winter months well before any leaf growth comes out of the pointy top end. Cloves planted upside down will grow but are likely to have stunted growth using a lot of their stored energy to find the surface . Plant only the largest and healthiest cloves. There is a direct correlation between parent bulb size and harvested bulb size. Research suggests there is a ten-fold significance in success in bulb size based on large bulbs compared to large cloves. Also, cloves from a large bulb will generally have a larger harvest bulb compared to the same size clove from a smaller bulb. Interestingly massive bulbs with more cloves have a poorer survival rate. Yet there will always be variation in growing bulbs but consider using large cloves from large bulbs to produce healthy , plump garlic bulbs. Do not plant cloves from bulbs purchased from a shop that is sourced from beyond our shores. Overseas garlic (you can tell because most supermarkets will state the country of origin and/or their roots will be entirely chopped off) poses a disease risk to our soils. Overseas garlic is normally treated with methyl bromide during fumigation and is also likely to have sprout inhibitors. How to Plant How to Plant Garlic Beds or Pots Depending on how much garlic you wish to grow and how much space you have, you might need to form a garlic bed. Garlic can also be successfully grown in pots, however avoid plastic pots where possible as it does not permit the soil to breath compared to clay pots. For pots they should be ideally be 50x50x50cm in dimension if growing only a few. A kiwi typical family (if there is such a thing?) might use 10-20 garlic bulbs per year. Depending on the type of garlic this means a family might need around three bulbs for planting with an average 6-8 cloves per bulb. However, some cannot get enough garlic to eat and might consume 100+/year thus needing at least 10-15 bulbs to divide into 100+ cloves to plant in their garlic bed. Check out the garlic planning diagram to determine how many plantable cloves for each type of garlic. If you wish to only grow a small number of cloves then you could just find a small pocket in your vegetable garden to poke them in. It is worth putting a few sticks into the soil to delineate where you planted them since they are in for a long time. If you have a dozen or more cloves then it is worth designating an area as a garlic bed. If growing in a free-draining raised bed there is no need to mound up the soil. If planting into a ground-level bed then consider raising the soil 20-30cm to ensure that the bed does not get waterlogged during the colder winter months or during those spring deluges that occur particularly up north. We grow ours on 30cm mounds, with the troughs for walking between rows filled in using wood mulch. We make our garlic beds no wider than a metre. This ensures that we can reach all parts of the soil from both sides when planting, applying organic fertiliser, removing scapes and during weeding. Spac ing T he more space you can give an individual clove the better. Wild garlic origins are from the cold and sparse highlands of Central Asia where there is little competition and thus garlic developed to only grow a few thin leaves. Spacing should allow the plant to maximise exposure to sunlight (> photosynthesis), root mass (> nutrient uptake) and air circulation (< risk of disease such as rust). The more space you give garlic the more sunlight and uptake of nutrients will occur from the soil. At Gourmet Garlic we have done several spacing trials and found that planting cloves only a few extra centimetres further apart makes a massive difference to plant health and bulb size. If you want to plant just a bulb or a couple worth of cloves then a short row or two can be planted in the garden bed beside other vegetables - keep in mind that garlic leaves can rise up to a metre tall and may shade other plants. While we are a small commercial grower, like the average home gardener we do not use machinery. Also like the home gardener we would love more room to plant garlic. W e plant our garlic cloves 12cm apart with 20cm spacing between rows. This gives us around 40 cloves per square metre. The generally accepted method is 10-15cm apart in rows 15-30cm apart. Ideally, we would like to have more room for them and space cloves further apart (even our trials tell us this) such as 20x20cm apart (25 cloves/square metre) but our garden space just like at home is at a premium. Our pathways between beds are 40cm wide allowing for a narrow walkway between beds to inspect the plants, undertake weeding, and remove scapes. If you have a lot of garlic to plant consider making a dibble hole jig. The jig will create several holes in the soil at the right soil depth across your row in one go. Ours is simply a narrow strip of wood just over a metre long, with five protruding bolts to make the row. On each bolt we have used a small strip of watering hose as a sleeve between the bolt head and timber. Our spacing and depth are shown in the diagram below. Depth The depth to plant cloves depends on your climate zone and the size of the clove. Those with mild winters barely have to poke the clove into the soil. This would mean the top of the clove sits only a couple of centimetres from the surface. Those with cool winters should plant with 2-5cm of soil on top. In cold climates, it is suggested to plant cloves 5-7cm below the soil surface to protect the clove from the winter extremes and to reduce the chance of frost heaving the clove to the surface. If the clove is large then consider placing it slightly deeper to allow for the longer length of the clove. It is not an exact science. Generally the top of the clove should have a covering of at least 2cm. If your soil is light then you might also sow deep as the roots have a tendency to push the clove upwards during winter and exposed them at the surface. If this happens carefully dig a minor pit beside the clove and put the clove deeper without disturbing the roots. Method This is a simple process. Make the holes for the cloves to the relevant depth. You could use your index finger to make hole and pop the clove in or use a jig. Ensure that the soil is moist, otherwise it will dry out the clove hampering growth and germination. Take a clove from an earlier cracked bulb. Holding the wider base, place the clove into the hole with the pointy end up. Once a row is completed gently apply soil to cover the holes. Early harvesting garlics like turban and asiatic garlic will take about a 1-2 weeks to show leaves, while mid-late harvesting garlics could take six weeks as they rely on cold soil temperatures to trigger leaf development. You can always check root and leaf development by gently digging down in the soil to check.

Turban Garlic Group Early Season| Short Storing | 6-12 cloves The Earlybird: Likes to arrive early at the garden party and prefers to be eaten first Turban garlic's name comes from the shape of the umbel which looks like squat Turban head covering. This garlic is often the first type to be harvested. It is a semi-bolting hardneck garlic which grows best in warmer climates with mild winters. It often has two pink triangles on it's false stem. This garlic group produces several cloves per bulb and has a strong purple stripe colour with a blotchy bulb wrapper. It grows best in a mild winter climate . As a semi-bolting hardneck type it generally sends up a flower scape with a relatively solid stem which is not braidable. This garlic might not produce scapes when grown in warmer climates if not vernalised . The garlic has a medium heat and a simple earthy taste and is the best garlic to be used raw in dressings or rubbed into salads. Characteristics Clove & Bulb Appearance The bulb is normally a flat globe shape, general ly has a purple stripe with blotched wrapper (skin) containing between 6-12 cloves. The bulbs have a single layer of cloves. Generally all cloves in a standard size bulb are of a size suitable for planting. The clove skin is a tan or cream colour. The cloves are very distinctive being typically squat , blunt tip a nd fat shaped like no other garlic. They also have short clove tips. They have the shortest storage life of any garlic at around 4-5 months after harvest. B ulbils Turbans are a hardneck garlic which generally sends out a scape (flower stalk) particularly in colder climates. They normally produce 30-100 medium sized cream to light pink coloured bulbils that have a wide tear drop shape. Leaves & Scapes Turbans have a wide floppy leaf . The leaf colour has is pale green. Scapes tend to form a downward 'U' shape, with the umbel having a medium green and long purple blush.

GARLIC GROWING GUIDE The ten steps of growing garlic Eating One of the best things about growing garlic is having year-round home-grown garlic to eat. Historically, garlic growing cultures planted several types of garlic for home consumption not only for year-round use but also for different cooking styles. Separating Separating Garlic bulb and clove skins can be challenging to remove. Some garlic types are easier to peel than others. For example rocambol e has a loose clove skin (it does not store long), and most purple stripes are easier to remove than the tighter skins of some other garlic groups. Garlic Bulbs To break the cloves from the bulbs involves separation. Use your thumbs to pull the bulb apart. This might require some force and if using the entire bulb consider pushing down on the bulb using your heal of your hand. Take care not to tear the clove skins during this process. Garlic Cloves Clove skin separation is even trickier. Place a clove down sideways on a cutting board and press firmly with your hand or the side of a wide bladed knife to break the skin and snap the inner loose. This technique might cause some clove bruising. Otherwise consider pouring boiling water on cloves sitting in cold water which will make it easier to peel. A silicon tube garlic peeler which rolls between your palms with a clove or two inside is a cheap and effective tool that is widely available too. There are also a range of online videos of other techniques to try. We find the easiest cloves to peel by hand are porcelain cloves, closely followed by the strongly bolting hardnecks. Chemistry Garlic Chemistry Garlic has been used as medicine, a flavouring agent as well as a food for sever al millennia. Garlic bulbs are made up of nearly 60% water, 33% carbohydrates, 6% proteins and less than 1% of fats. They contain a small amount of ten types of sugars, as well as amino acids, minerals and vitamins. Garlic's most unique agent is associated with the organic sulphur compound that gives garlic it distinctive smell and taste. Sulphurs are known to be antibacterial and antifungal. I t was not until the 1940's that scientists discovered that the antibacterial properties in crushed garlic is allicin. It is not present in uncrushed garlic. Interestingly, scientists found the amino acid alliin which is present in the natural constituent of fresh garlic, when crushed releases an enzyme called alliinase which then converts alliin into allicin. Cooking and our stomach acids destroys allicin. Despite this crushing, chopping or slicing garlic for cooking, garlic releases a complex mix of reactions of active ingredients and health benefits. Using Using Garlic The different garlic groups are diverse as the countries cuisine which traditionally used garlic. They are as different as the difference between French, Asian, Italian, Russian or Spanish cooking styles and ingredients. Each of these countries, over thousands of years have shaped their provincial garlic to their specific cuisine. Garlic is versatile in the kitchen. The cloves can be eaten raw (although some types are very strong and pungent) and the best one to be used raw is the turba n group . This type in Europe is often called a 'summer garlic' as it is the first to be harvested ready for summer and is less oily and more watery. Turban's are often used raw in dips or rubbed into salads compared to other garlics which contain more natural oils which protect the garlic flavour when heated. Other milder garlics like standard and glazed purple stripe or rocamboles are also good raw. Garlics that are cooked or blanch ed garlics usually have a high oil content in the clove which protects the flavours during heating to make sauces, roasted smoked and put on the BBQ. Garlic can also be pickled with vinegar or dehydrated and made into a concentrated (1-3 x) powder or garlic salt. Depending how you wish to use garlic, the cloves can be used whole, chopped, sliced, shaved, crushed or even bruised. All of these techniques will release the alliinase enzyme to produce the sulphuric aroma. When g arlic is heated it breaks down alliin and gives garlic it s rich flavour. Baking whole bulbs or cloves has the least therapeutic effect, the least pungency but many enjoy the mildness that results from baking. Sautéed garlic can also bring out the aromatic flavours. Garlic can be cold or hot smoked as well as be frozen particularly as cloves. Also another way of eating garlic is as 'B lack Garlic'. This garlic is be made from standard garlic bulbs where they are heated for several weeks at a low temperature. It gives the garlic a caramelised umami flavour - it tastes weirdly nothing like garlic. Black garlic is not fermented (no bacteria or micro-organisms are at play) but uses the Maillard reaction to chemically alter the bulb with a reaction of between an amino acid and a reducing sugar. This results in a dark brown to black inner cloves and is like moist licorice. It's considered both sweet and savoury and is often used on crackers, in meals or pureed as a dressing. Other aspects of the garlic can also be used such as garlic sprouts which are immature garlic harvested early and look a bit like spring onions and have a more mild flavour. Scapes (flower stems) can be fried particularly good in stir fries. The c reole type are less fibrous making them ideal for scape pesto while marbled purple stripe and porcelain have thick scapes and are well-suited for grilling. Bulbils can be eaten unpeeled and raw and different types have varying skin thickness and heat profiles. They can be used to spice up a dish or sprinkled on cooked meal which adds a mild garlic flavour to pizzas. They also work for salads or other foods as a seasoning. Garlic rounds (uncloved bulbs) can also be used in the same manner as cloves. Flavours Garlic Flavours Each garlic group has different flavour characteristics. Turban's are a fresh eating garlic usually used raw in salads and dips since they are less oily , the flavour is destroyed and muted during cooking . Eaten raw they have a crisp savoury flavour, if sautéed they offer a nutty flavour while roasted are sweet, nutty with a caramelised flavour. Asiatic are best cooked in a stirfry or sautéed with a lasting strong nutty flavour offering good heat. Creole garlic generally has a hot, sweet and nutty flavour and these purple stripe garlic are also full bodied garlics. The are best sautéed, slow cooked or roasted, with a gentle sauté retaining heat, while more nuttier when crisp. The softneck garlics ( silverskin and artichoke ) generally are more simple to the palate and have a lack of depth of flavour and more vegetative character compared to the hardneck types. They are great for using in sweet dishes like Italian tomato receipes as they cut through the sweetness of the meal. These softneck garlics are best sautéed or slow cooked. The purple stripes of Standard Purple Stripe , Marbled Purple Stripe and Glazed Purple Stripe have an excellent taste and not as sweet as Rocambole . Some people prefer them over the sweeter types as their flavours are intense and complex. Glazed purple stripe is best eaten raw or in a stirfry. Standard purple stripe and glazed purple stripe are best sautéed, slow cooked or roasted to increase their flavours and increase caramelisation. Porcelains are best sautéed , slow cooked or roasted which softens their heat and brings out their richness. Rocambole garlic is considered to have the supreme garlic taste and is a favorite of chefs with its rich, complex and sweet flavours. It has a buttery and creamy texture which coats the mouth much like garlic butter . They are very versatile and can be used raw, sauté, slow cooked and roasted which some chefs describe as earthy, floral and certainly creamy. The colder the climate in which the garlic is grown the hotter the garlic tends to taste. Surprisingly, small bulbs well-grown in poor soils can be the best tasting and storing garlic.

TOP 10 TIPS Disappointed each season with small, weak and poorly performing garlic bulbs? These are our top 10 tips for the best chances of harvesting the largest, healthiest and the best looking garlic bulbs. 1) Choose the right garlic type Each of the ten garlic groups prefers a particular climate zone. We have divided the country into three main garlic growing zones . Choosing the right garlic for your climate zone is the first step for growing big healthy garlic bulbs. 2) Prepare your garden bed Pick a sunny spot . I f possible use a garden bed which has not had any allium species (leek, onion, chives) in it for the past couple of years and ensure that your soil is rich in nutrients, light and well drained. Our guide offers more detail on garden preparation. 3) Pick the best time to plant The old saying 'plant on the shortest day and harvest on the longest' is a very rough guideline. Planting really depends on your climate zone and the type of garlic grown. Check out our planting guide for when to plant. 4) Find big cloves from big bulbs It's so important to only plant big cloves from big bulbs - research shows this provides the best results. Planting small cloves will almost always return poor results. If possible try to obtain bulbs from a higher altitude and southern latitude from your garden. These cloves from such bulbs will have more vigour when taken to a warmer and lower elevation. 5) Follow best planting practices Plant cloves not bulbs. The clove tip should sit to the top, and ideally planted 20x20cm apart and 2-7cm deep (the colder the deeper). For more planting information following our planting guide . 6) Dispose of the rogues Find the rogues! Keep a close eye on your crop for common problems or unusual coloration of leaves. Whether this be yellowing (nutrient or an infection), brooming, or multiple shoots. If it's affecting the occasional plant then dispose of it, if there are many then it might be a nutrient deficiency, a disease or a pest. 7) Fertilise y our soils While it is important to have your soils rich in nutrients prior to planting, it' s more important to put on th e right fert iliser at the right time. Choose organic slow release nitrogen fertiliser at regular intervals in spring (eg. blood and bone) for leaf growth. At maximum leaf number ( in most places 10-12), stop and change to an organic slow release potassium fertiliser (eg. potash) to enhance bulbing. 8) Weed, weed and weed! Garlic hates competition. Some growers use mulch to suppress weeds , while others do the hard mahi by hand. Either way, weed free soil ensures the best chance of larger bulbs. 9) Remove the scapes Most hardneck garlic will produce a scape, especially if you live in a cool to cold winter climate. While some hardneck garlics respond differently to scape removal, but it's best to remove the scape to give you a greater chance of a 10-30% bigger bulb. 10) Know when to harvest Harvest time depends on your climate zone and type of garlic grown. Harvest too early and bulbs have not matured, while harvesting too late results in the bulb skin splitting and will not store as long. Stop watering a month out , and follow our harvesting guide to know when to harvest your big healthy garlic bulbs.

GARLIC GROWING GUIDE The ten steps of growing garlic Storing Unless eaten green, preserved or dehydrated garlic should be stored as fresh bulbs. Once garlic is dried it needs to be sorted, hung and left ready to be eaten. This is the second part after harvesting where the garlic goes through a dormancy period. Prepare Preparation Once garlic is dry it needs to be sorted to make sure that is has no disease. C hoose the best bulbs for next years crop and prepare it for storing. Trimming It is necessary to remove the roots and the dirty bulb wrappers before storing. Unless you are looking at plai ting your softneck garlic, also to remove the false stem or pseudostem (what most people think of as the stem) prior to storing. This can normally be done with a pair of scissors, although the hardneck garlic (less so the semi-bolting turbans , creoles and asiatics ) are likely to need to be cut with secateurs as the stem is very tough. While removing the dirty bulb wrapper and trimming, watch for any bulbs with damage or disease. Any in poor condition should be destroyed. We keep the necks on the bulb quite long, the longer the neck being stored the longer it should keep as it reduces air and moisture entering the bulb. The same can be said with keeping on as much bulb wrapper as possible for storing. Si zing Sizing is a process more important for commercial gro wers but is necessary for the home gardener to find the best bulbs for replanting next year. Bulb s izing names vary in the industry both here abroad. We use a wooden template to poke bulbs through to decide the various grades. Premium prices are obtained for larger bulbs which contain larger cloves, as generally larger cloves will grow large bulbs next year. A small bulb could o nly weigh 20gm, while a extra large could weigh in at 100+gms. This is a five fold difference to any returns for a commercial grower if selling by weight and for the home gardener a larger bulb and cloves are easier to use in the kitchen. Garlic grades are based on the width of the garlic. Commercial garlic grade within the trade is based on a numbering system. Size 3 is 30-35mm, 4 is 35-40mm, 5 is 40-45mm, 6 is 45-50mm while grade 7 is 50-55mm. We prefer a grade based on a description of the size. Our preferred sizing scale would be: • Small <50mm • Medium 50-60mm • Large 60-70mm • Extra Large 70mm+ Stati stics If you are a commercial grower or a re an interested home grower, then the best time to record the results of your harvest is after grading . We collect information on bulb size, average bulb weight and other records between the different garlic groups. In this way we know how much garlic to grow next year, whether our trials worked, and our growing regimes for the next season. Our goal is constant improvement. Pl aiting Garlic One way to keep your softneck garlic (silverskin and artichoke ) is to plait them before or after curing. While the strongly bolting garlics cannot be plaited due to their thick scape, in some warmer climates some of the semi-bolting hardneck (turban , creole and asiatic ) garlic groups might be able to be plaited. There are plenty of online videos describing how to plait garlic. Store Storing When to Store Storing garlic is the final stage of curing. In NZ even in cold climates where the late harvesting garlics occurs in early February, the start of Autumn in March is a time when culinary garlic (not planting stock) should begin to be stored. This is because in March in NZ the weather typically begins to change. Daily tempe r atures below 1 6 °C and moist air from rainfall (>65% humidity) are the seasonal triggers for garlic bulbs to develop green internal shoots in preparation for shooting. Naturally garlic is capable of shooting two months after harvesting - particularly turbans . Therefore it is best to bring culinary garlic inside whe re temperatures are more stable and where garlic can be enjoyed for the rest of the year. How to Store Garlic should be stored in a dry, mild, low humidity environment out of direct light. Ideally , garlic should be stored between 10-20 °C. The optimum temperature is 13-14 °C. If the garlic is stored too cool (between 4-1 0 °C) it is likely to sprout. Storing temperatures above 20 °C results in quic ker bulb shrinkage and decreases their storage life. Garlic is best stored at 45-50% relative humidity. Low humidity will result in the bulb withering, too high (70+%) and it will encourage molds and roots to form. Ideally garlic should be stored in a stable temperature zone without significant fluctuations. While it is difficult to obtain ideal home conditions, try to find a spot that will be satisfactory. Put garlic in a space with good air circulation (not air tight containers). A good place is a paper bag, woven or netted bag/basket similar to those used for onions. Do not use glass or plastic containers as garlic will generate condensation and molds. Garlic matures in storage. At their freshest and juiciest after harvest the clove skins are hard to peel. As garlic ages the flavour is enhanced, the clove shrinks making it easier to peel. In storage all cloves will eventually dry out, go moldy or sprout . Depending on the type of garlic and how tight their bulb and cloves skins are garlic will continue to lo se weight through moisture loss. Softneck garlic is known to lose 4-5% of their weight during normal storage, some types (porcelain , standard purple stripe and glazed purple stripe lose 5-10%), while the remaining garlic types can loose 10-15% of their weight due to continued drying. In the kitchen it is great to have a small amount of bulbs ready for use. It is best placed in a breathable container (not plastic), basket, terracotta pot or metal container with holes. Keep out of direct light and in or nearby the kitchen. Garlic types have different storage times. If you are growing a variety of garlic then consider using turban garlic first as it has the shortest storage duration. Consider the storage chart as to the length of storage for various types of garlic. Preserving Preserving Garlic Dehydrating G arlic This is a safe way to keep garlic long term. Pick healthy, firm cloves and remove their skins. Put them in a blender or slice them lengthways or into small pieces. Place on the dehydrator's drying trays until dry, golden and crisp. Keep in an airtight container away from direct light. The dry flakes can also be made into powder with a mortar and pestle or by using a blender with fine cutting blade. The taste remains distin ctly that of the original garlic group. Freezing Garlic Another proven storage technique is freezing the cloves which keeps much of their flavour. You can put the cloves with or without peeling them, into a ziplock bag and freeze. If pre-peeled you can also chop them before freezing. If the clove skins are on it is normally easier to remove them after they are frozen. Garlic in Vinegar Garlic can be preserved in vinegar or wine but it does change the flavour. We advise against preserving garlic in oil because of the risk of botulism. Garlic is prone to botulism due to it's pH being between 5.3-6.3 which is considered too high for preserving in this way. Smoked Garlic Garlic can also be hot or cold smoked. For hot smoked use whole bulbs and remove any loose wrappers (skin), brush olive oil over each bulb and smoke for 1-2 hours depending on the temperature of your smoker. The smoked cloves' contents should resemble a paste like roasted garlic. Cold smoking takes between 1-10 days. Black Garlic Using standard garlic bulbs, garlic can be turned into black garlic - a licorice like food with a non-garlic umami flavour. Black garlic can be made by importing a specialised cooker or alternatively by using a rice cooker, slow cooker or dehydrator can be used to keep garlic bulbs (wrapped in two layers of tin foil) at a low heat for 30-40 days. Black garlic is ready when the cloves are black and their contents treacly. It is not fermented as no bacteria or micro-organisms are used. Black garlic goes through the Maillard reaction of chemically changing amino acids which causes the browning. It's a treat.

Artichoke Garlic Group Mid Season | Med ium Storing | 10-20 cloves The Reliable: The best all-rounder loving most climate zones, is happy in a braid, and has a clean taste Artichoke garlic is named after the appearance of the clove layer pattern which looks a bit like an artichoke flower bud. This garlic is a popular mid-season softneck garlic and is considered to be the most adaptable garlic for all soil conditions and climate zones. This garlic group produces many cloves per bulb and can be plaited despite its wide leaves. It is often cropped commercially due to its high number of cloves, no scape removal required and its relatively long storage life. It grows best in a mild to cool winter climate ​ . This is a non-bolting garlic type meaning it does not send up a flower stalk known as a scape unless under stress. Under stress it does produce neck bulbils and a large, wide scape. This garlic has a mild simple vegetative flavour. Characteristics Clove & Bulb Appearance The bulb is normally a flattened oblong globe shape , generally white to tan in colour with purple blotches on the bulb wrapper (skin) particularly in cold climates. The bulbs contain between 10-20 cloves. The bulbs are generally larger than the other soft neck silverskin group. Artichoke garlic normally has multiple layers of cloves. There are often at least ten plantable cloves per bulb. The remaining inner cloves are small, tall and angular thus being less suitable as planting stock. The clove skin is often a dull, matt-white or cream colour. The outer cloves are typically plump square, flattened wedge with three flatish sides shaped with long tails on the outer cloves. The inner layers of cloves are tall, thin, roughly square sided or angular. Artichoke garlic typically stores for 7-9 months in ideal conditions. Bulbils T his softneck garlic generally does not send out a scape (flower stalk) unless it is stressed particularly by cold weather. Under stress they can produce clusters of neck bulbils on the lower half of their pseudostem . Those plants with bulbils will not be able to be plaited. Their skins are normally purple to dark purple in appearance and extra large (7-12mm) in size - the largest of any garlic . Leaves & Scapes Artichoke garlic has more sideways leaf growth compared to the silverskin softneck group. The leaf is very wide compared to other garlic groups and they tend to have leaf-flop halfway up. Thus they can be described as having a more horizontal spreading leaf appearance. Plants can tend to lie over close to harvest time. The leaf is a yellow- green colour. This garlic is easy to distinguish from silverskin and other garlics as it has a visible pink arrow at the stem of each leaf and is a softneck. Under stress ( particularly with chilly spring weather) this garlic can (rarely) produce a large scape with a purple blotch.

ABOUT US We are boutique garlic growers in the deep south. We love the varietal quirks so much that we wanted to share them with other garlic growers so they too could sample the unique flavours, shapes and gourmet garlic growing habits. Our Garlic We have grown garlic for our own use for many years in Kingston, Lake Whakatipu. The height of the Covid-19 pandemic gave us time to develop our spare residential section by building retaining walls, preparing the soil and raising growing beds and then growing our first commercial garlic crop. We have had some challenges. We thought it would be easy to source the 10 global garlic groups from a few suppliers around the country but it proved challenging in several ways. First of all, the demand for planted garlic was massive. So we struggled to find any bulbs in order to scale up our production. We found other kiwi gardeners loved planting garlic too. Secondly, we quickly found that suppliers only sell one or two types of garlic, generally the same, most commercially-viable softneck silverskin and artichoke garlic types. Thirdly, the nomenclature or the naming of the different types of garlic as they are all mixed up. Along with other confusing names, Russian Red and NZ Purple could be one of at least three different types depending on who was selling them. There is no way to identify them until you grow the bulbs and look for subtle indicators over a few years. We have standardised our garlic into the recognised ten global garlic groups to make things simple. We sourced much of our range from keen individuals that grow heirloom garlic. It took a few years to identify the types in order to build our special gourmet garlic sampler pack - the first and only such selection in the country. Today we grow all of the ten global garlic groups including a range of garlic bulbils . As a result we have amassed the broadest range of garlic in the country in order to grow bulbs with the gardener in mind. Our Plot & Ethos Being nestled in the southern mountains, at altitude with a constant cool lake breeze gives us the unique climate that helps us grow all the types of garlic - it has some similarities of the conditions wild garlic experiences in its homeland of Central Asia. Like most home gardeners, we grow all our garlic using hand tools on a small plot on our spare residential section. By living on the land and at this scale we can keep an eye on the crop by just walking a few paces from our door. We do not use machinery, and care for our garlic with more gentle hand tools. We grow our garlic to the highest quality we can achieve in our climate zone. It's not easy to maintain all ten global garlic groups in one location. We grow our bulbs using organic principals with no artificial fertilisers, sprays or additives. We use fully compostable packaging and fillings where we can to will enable you to put them in your compost bin to help build your own soils. We hope you will consider our range and enjoy learning from our garlic growing guide as much as we have enjoyed building it - it's the best resource of information for growing garlic for NZ's unique climatic conditions. We have put alot of effort into building and maintain the garlic growing guide. Please consider supporting us by following our social media links below. Happy garlic growing ! Gary & Kim Gourmet Garlic NZ

Spray free and cared for by hand, let us help you to choose a garlic type, then visit our shop and use NZ's best garlic growing guide Our Range Gourmet Sampler For those what want to try every global garlic type Mild Climate Pack Garlic that prefers a warmer winter Cool Climate Pack Garlic that prefers a cool winter Cold Climate Pack Garlic that prefers a cold winter Bulbil Packs Curious to try growing garlic's secondary cloves? SHOP Try our ... Garlic Growing Guide

Standard Purple Stripe Group Late Season| Med Storing | 8-12 cloves The Godfather: The easy peeling garlic from which all other garlic groups originate ... best of all this wild one's the sweetest Standard Purple Stripe garlic grows best in cold climates with cold winters. It is considered the most closely related to the original wild garlic, from which all other garlic originated, before being classified into the ten garlic groups now recognised. This garlic group produces several tan coloured cloves and typically has a purple hue on it s bulb wrapper. It grows best in a cool to cold winter climate ​. Standard Purple Stripe is a strongly-bolting hardneck type meaning it sends up a flower scape with a solid stem which is not braidable. This garlic is considered to have a great all round taste that is rich, spicy, strong - a fusion of different flavours. Characteristics Clove & Bulb Appearance The bulb is normally a round shape, generally it i s white with purple hues on its wra pper (skin) which contains between 8-12 cloves. The cloves 'hug' the pseudostem . The bulbs have a single layer of cloves. Generally all cloves of a standard-sized bulb are of a size suitable for planting. The cloves are smaller than many hardneck garlics and have a long cresce nt shape, angular edges and a long tail/tip. The clove skin is a dull tan colour with a purple blush. The cloves are easy peeling. The easy peeling nature of this garlic makes them ideal in the kitchen, while they have a medium storage life of around 7-9 months after harvest. Bulbils Standard purple stripe is a hardneck garlic which sends out a scape (flower stalk) particularly in colder climates. They typically produce a large amount (80-140) of small cream to pink coloured bulbils . L eaves & Scapes Standard Purple Stripe garlic has a wide, floppy tipped green-yellow leaf . Scapes normally form as a 3/4 loop with a wide green-yell ow umbel . The juvenile garlic leaf is unusual in that it splays sideways laying flat to the soil. Some growers label their early growing form as being a bit 'alien' like.