I have dug up 8 of my 15 varieties of heirloom, gourmet garlics and those are now going through a 2-3 wk. curing process. Over the next wk. or two, I will dig up the rest. I sell my garlics in 1 lb. increments, but you can have 1/2 lb. of two different varieties to make up that lb. Shipping will begin around June 7.

If you have never tasted heirloom, gourmet garlic varieties, you will be in for a nice surprise. The flavors and pungency are unlike anything you have had before, nothing at all like the store-bought garlics. Many of the garlics are even eye-appealing, with streaks, colors, and blushes of rose, purple, creamy white, and brown.

If you have interest in purchasing my garlic this year, contact me via T-Mail. I sell out early every year, so you'll want to have your name on the "want" list as soon as possible. Those who got their names in in early June and last three years generally did not get garlic. It was all sold by then.

This is what the first of the curing garlic looked like on May, 20, 2017.

Oh, this is exciting!!

The avenue to more orchid purchases.

Oh man. I had to destroy my entire inventory of phalaenopsis this spring. They had a virus that spread. Fifteen plants. It came from the place I bought them. Probably $350 worth of plant gone. I think their supplier had a problem that became my problem. I had plants for 5 yr that succumbed to the virus and it broke my heart to toss them. I did it. Now, I have maybe 15 plants. I don't want any more orchids and may just get rid of them. This is heart breaking.

I cannot even imagine how sad this must have made you, Arlene. How was the virus manifested?

Leaves that had stripes of nearly white and black then they just shriveled up. I talked with the manager of the place I bought them. He thought it was just over watering. Later, maybe 5 months later, I took in a leaf. Just shaking heads and moans. During that 5 months, every phal caught that virus. The people at the store told me to destroy them and it took me a while to actually do it. But I did. I'm not adding any more orchids ... really bummed out about it. I still have some Phaphiopedilums and a few Miltonias that are trying to bloom. Obviously the phalaenopsis were my favorite. Isn't that the way it always happens??? Have it add, it was an insult to my wallet too.

Maybe this happens more frequently than I realize, but I have never heard of a virus spreading like that. My guess is that all the plants were virus-infected when you got them and the virus simply became evident after a period of time. I don't know much about viruses though. Experts have told me that in their opinion, every single orchid that has been grown over more than a couple of decades will be infected. But they also said that the vast majority will never show signs/symptoms of the infection, not in the leaves or in the flowers. Those that study Plumeria at the University of Hawaii say pretty much the same. Viruses are present but seldom evident.

Lindsey and perhaps Jim, Ursula, and others who have grown and shown orchids for quite a long time may know whether this is true or not. As far as I know, of the thousands of orchids entered in AOS sanctioned shows each and every year, no virus testing is done - ever. That seems to tell me that even our AOS is not overly concerned about viruses.

You have only given me another reason NOT to grow Phalaenopsis. I find them particularly sensitive to all kinds of problems, particularly the "standard" growers. I do grow some compact ones but that's just because I like to mount them.

Just so you know a little bit about what heirloom garlic is and what I grow, this is something that I sent to someone wanting a lot of information about my garlic. Where needed, I have updated the information to reflect today's availability and pricing:

"There are books written just on garlic; growing, harvesting, and cooking/eating. Generally garlic can be segregated into three broad categories: Turban (hardnecks), Artichoke (softneck [also called silverskins]), and Creole. Each have attributes that make them popular. Garlic is rated by garlic experts (yes, there really are garlic experts - LOL) and they are rated on garlickiness and pungency (heat). They rating is 1-10, with 1 being almost without taste and heat and 10 being extremely hot and/or garlicky.

All my garlic is considered heirloom and I grow organically. I never use herbicides or pesticides of any kind near my garden. All the garlic I grow is also labeled gourmet and there is little resemblance between it and what found in grocery stores.

1. Turban - This garlic is generally called "hardneck" because of its hard, central stem and is what's typically grown up north. This garlic can be grown in the south as well and can be harvested a few weeks before the other garlic. Turban can be quite tasteful and hot, but for the most part they are considered mild to middle-of-the-road in both taste and heat. They are generally rated 3-6. Turbans generally will have few cloves but the cloves will be quite large. Turbans will easily store for 4-6 months. I have four varieties of this and it is priced @ $22.00/lb.

2. Artichoke - This garlic prefers to grow in warmer climates and those in the far-northern states (other than the NW coastal states) can have a difficult time growing it. These are called "softnecks" and "silverskins" because the bulb wrappers are silvery in appearance. Softnecks are generally rated a bit higher than hardnecks, let's say 4-7 and they store longer than hardnecks, easily 6 months and some as long as 10 months. Every variety has a little bit different coloration and size, but some of these bulbs can weigh 1/4 lb. I have six varieties and each is priced @ $22.00/lb.

3. Creole - Now comes the cream of the crop. These garlics are rarely seen for sale (almost never when I make mine available), are almost always sold in limited amounts (often as little as 1/4 lb.!), and are at the top in every category you can imagine. These garlic are purchased for their taste/heat (4-9), their beautiful colors (everything from cream with purple stripes, lavender, rose red, and dark purple), for their keeping ability (8-12 months or longer), and because they don't lose their flavor when cooked. I am still using my Creole garlics harvested last June. Creole bulbs will almost always be a bit smaller than the hardnecks and softnecks and will generally have 8-12 cloves/bulb. These varieties would generally never be grown outside of the southern states and a warm-climate in the NW Coast areas. When a professional chef chooses the best garlic, it will always be a Creole. I have six varieties. These are priced @$25.00/lb.

For someone who has never had or bought these gourmet garlics, these prices might seem a bit expensive. But when you consider the size, flavor, and long-storage time of these garlics, the price is actually quite reasonable. Generally, my garlic is priced 20-25% less than comparable garlics sold elsewhere. Also, it is rare to find a large commercial grower that will ship garlic out before late August. Most only begins shipping in October. Mine begins to go out in mid-June. I am a hobbyist grower, not a commercial grower. I just like to grow things!

Shipping costs will naturally vary depending on weight and where it is being shipped. I am in Mississippi. Shipping to the west coast and upper NE costs me the most. Since I only sell by the pound, the lightest box would be rated at 2 lbs. Shipping will range anywhere from $7.45 up to $12.95. I always inform my buyers of the shipping cost before they commit to a purchase. That's just the right thing to do.

Also, since I won't be shipping out my garlic until mid-June (I will dig it up mid-late May and into early June) and then will cure it for 2-3 weeks, I generally won't even invoice anyone for their garlic until I actually see what I have available. Garlic, like any other crop, has good years and bad years. Last year was terrible and my total crop's weight came in about 40% lighter than the year before. I ended up limiting my buyers to reduced weight or simply had to refuse some purchases all together. Some of my buyers insist on pre-paying (they want first dibs on the garlic!) and I had to refund money to some of them. I was badly over-sold. Ouch! I don't do the pre-harvest sale any longer. I now simply ask a select few (previous buyers) if they have interest and will note those that do. I already have that list.

If you want to know the specific varieties I have and the characteristics of each, I will be glad to supply you with that information. If you want to order my garlic, just let me know and I will put you in the pre-sale ledger. But remember, I cannot guarantee that I can fulfill an order until I see what my harvest looks like.

Thanks for your interest."

Added Note:

Most store-bought garlic used to come from Gilroy, California and was only two types, both softnecks. Now, the vast majority comes from China and the variety is almost never known. Buyer beware. By the way, the huge elephant garlic you see in your grocery store is not even a garlic. It is an onion that has a very mild garlicky flavor.

Do you still have any creole type left? would they do well in zone 6? I know nothing about garlic, maybe just send me an assortment to start out?

I sent you a treemail, Ken.

Hi Ken, I think that I missed your garlic this year. Traveled from Anchorage to Seattle and have finally recuperated. Back on the computer full time now. Wondering if you have any garlic left?

Hi, Ivy. I have bagged about 1/2 of what I have (the rest is still curing and will be trimming, weighed, and bagged over the next two weeks). I haven't started shipping anything out but do have a lot of orders already in. At this point, I just don't know how much I will have and thus, don't know whether I can fill all the orders. Let me put you on my "want" list and when I know more over the next couple of weeks, I will let you know.

How did you like the cruise?

Okay. It is great to use in my various dishes and tonics but if it is finished, will want to get on next years waiting list. No problem.
The 11 day cruise was well worth the wait. Awesome is the word to describe it. Took photos from Anchorage to Vancouver, Canada and made a few videos. Added some photos to the photography forum under "share your photos". Preparing to go again in August only to Juneau, Skagway, the 22 mile long Tracy Arm Fjord to see waterfalls and twin Sawyer Glaciers and finally Victoria, BC Canada before going back to NYC.
Thanks
Ivy

I have more requests for garlics than I can fulfill, so I am ending this offer.

Next year then. Thank you Ken.

I finally got all my garlic inside, weighed, and bagged. Now to let people know if they'll get it or won't get it. I never have enough.

I got mine. Thanks.

Did you taste any of it........raw?

Not yet.

Get to it, Katie. You gotta keep those vampires away!