Fall Garden Fair Garlic and Shallots

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Garlic and shallots grow beautifully over the winter in Santa Clara County. Plant garlic and long-season shallots in the fall for harvesting in June–July. Be sure to choose a spot where you can withhold water for the last several weeks since the bulbs need to dry out as they mature. Fast growing Dutch Red Shallots can produce two or even three harvests over the course of the winter.

For more details:

How to Grow Shallots

How to Grow Garlic

Shallot Varieties

Here are some shallot varieties that we have found grow well in Santa Clara County.

Dutch Red Shallots: Fast growing Dutch Red Shallots can mature in just 90 days. Small, red/copper-colored, round, mild-flavored shallots, slightly larger than French Grey. Easy to grow and quick to harvest. May be planted in fall, late winter, and early spring in our climate for three possible harvests. Easy to grow in containers. Will produce large number of offspring. 90 -100 days

Dutch Yellow Shallots: In shape, exterior appearance, and taste, these shallots are virtually indistinguishable from French Red, except for having very pale-yellow flesh. Mild, easy to use. 110-120 days

French Grey Shallots: Small, slightly irregular, pear-shaped, greyish/brownish shallots. Prized In French cuisine as the “true shallot” or “griselle”. Its unimpressive appearance belies its intense, distinctive, and highly concentrated flavor, which is well-maintained in cooking. Slower to emerge and harvest than others. 120 days

French Red Shallots: There are several different varieties; we've grown ones similar to big reds found in California supermarkets. Large, torpedo-shaped shallots are bigger than Dutch Red. Mild, almost sweet, pinkish flesh. Easy to peel; easy to use raw. 110-120 days

Garlic Varieties

Here are some garlic varieties that we have found grow well in Santa Clara County.

(The code listed after each name is what we write on the bulbs to identify them.)

Aglio Rosso (AR)
Creole variety (hardneck) Origin: Sulmona in the Abruzzo region of Italy. The bulbs are hardy and easy to grow with a rich and mellow flavor that is said to be the secret ingredient in authentic Italian cooking.

Ajo Rojo (ARJ)
Creole variety (hardneck) Origin: Spain. A beautiful and distinctive garlic that is mild and creamy baked, but watch out raw! The heat comes on slowly and builds to intense.

Asian Tempest (AT)
Asiatic variety (hardneck) Origin: South Korea. This variety grows quickly and typically harvests very early, described as “weakly bolting,” produces scapes of prodigious size. This Asiatic strain produces an outstanding crop. Sweet baked with good garlic flavor. Breathtaking raw. A fiery challenge.

Chesnok Red (CR)
Purple Stripe variety (hardneck) Origin: Republic of Georgia. This garlic likes cold weather. Mild and sweet, good roaster with a creamy texture, stores well for its variety. This garlic holds its shape and retains flavor when cooked. Produces very large bulbs that average 9 to 10 easy to peel cloves.

Garlic-Chets-Italian-Red-MG-Kathy-Kaplan

Chet's Italian Red (CIR)
Artichoke variety (softneck) Origin: Found in an abandoned garden site in Tonasket, Washington in the 1960s. 10 to 20 cloves in 4 clove layers. A good raw Artichoke garlic for folks who want garlic flavor without being overpowered, but extreme winter cold makes it hot, strong, and full flavored. Does not do well when overly wet in last month before harvest.

China Stripe (CS)
Turban variety (hardneck) Origin: Beijing market. Easy to grow, reliable performer, produces large mild-flavored bulbs. Harvests early.

Chopaka Mountain (CM)
Artichoke variety (softneck) Origin: Unknown (but may have originally come from Inchelium Red stock). Chopaka Mountain stores well and is an easy going, friendly garlic for the cook.

Early Italian (EI)
Artichoke variety (softneck) Origin: Italy. Produces large, mild-tasting heads. Excellent roasted, stores well. Dependable and robust growth with attractive large bulbs with 11 to 21 cloves. Cloves fat, round and milk-white. Early maturing.

Inchelium Red (IR)
Artichoke variety (softneck) Origin: Was found growing at an old homesite on Colville tribal lands in Washington State. Typically very large heads having many cloves and flattened bulb shape. Easy to grow and very reliable, however it may be relatively short-storing. It is excellent baked with a mild but lingering flavor. It can be quite spicy when first harvested but mellows in storage. This variety is often braided.

Julius Starr (JS)
Variety unknown (hardneck) Origin: Unknown. Variety found initially by Sue Zaslaw, from a forgotten source, but now unavailable elsewhere. Rare. Handsome, robust, rich-flavored, exceptionally long-storing.

Kay’s Backyard (KB)
Artichoke variety (softneck) Origin: Unknown. Highly reliable, super productive, exceptionally long-storing for its type. Produces large heads, mellow tasting. Said to have “typical Italian flavor.”

Keeper (KE)
Creole variety (hardneck) Origin: Unknown. Aptly named, because it does keep exceptionally well. Reliable, with large, sturdy stalks, easy to grow, especially for a hard neck. Usually described as “weakly bolting” referring to the rather droopy scape it produces, which in turn suggests its having adapted to the warmer winters, like ours, usually thought better-suited to artichoke types. Keeper is useful for all applications. Mild and mellow, exceptional roaster. In short, a keeper.

Garlic-Kettle-River-Giant-MG-Kathy-Kaplan

Kettle River Giant (KRG)
Artichoke variety (softneck) Origin: From the Kettle Falls region in Washington state. This variety has large cloves with a striking purple color. Whereas artichoke-type garlic is often dismissed as short-lived and boring, KRG is very lively and better storing than similar garlics, such as Inchelium Red. Perhaps because of its Pacific Northwest origin, KRG is thought to prefer a climate colder than ours. A pleasant, all-around garlic, KRG benefits from a period of cold storage.

Korean Mountain (KM)
Asiatic variety (hardneck) Origin: Despite name, thought to have originated in the Republic of Georgia. Astonishingly large and beautiful purple-stripe heads, characterized by large cloves. Reputed to be very hot.

Madrid (M)
Artichoke variety (softneck) Origin: Madrid. Beautiful large bulbs with pleasing clove structure and flattened tops. 8 to 12 plump cloves. Mild flavored with just a bit of heat.

Metechi (ME)
Purple Stripe variety (hardneck) Origin: South Central Asia. This variety produces large, easy to peel cloves. Its raw taste is very hot. Good storage, excellent to roast.

Garlic-Mexican-Red-Silver-MG-Kathy-Kaplan

Mexican Red Silver (MRS)
Silverskin variety (softneck) Origin: Mexico. Good baking variety with a light flavor and low heat. When raw, its hot and strong.

Montana (MO)
Porcelain variety (hardneck) Origin: Grown by Foothill Farm at the base of the Mission Mountains in NW Montana. This beautiful porcelain strain produces large, dense bulbs. Heavy feeder. Fiery at first then mellow. Very long standing.

Music (MU)
Porcelain variety (hardneck) Origin: Unknown. Large, easy peeling cloves. Music produces strong robust plants with exceptional scapes (a stand-out in the garden), which are useful for stir-fries, pesto and much more. A sweet and substantial garlic when baked. Hot when consumed raw.

Oregon Blue (OB)
Artichoke variety (softneck) Origin: Source unknown. A vigorous plant with deep green leaves. Bulb wrappers usually show a light blue/purple tint. Good storage.

Pescadero Red (PR)
Creole (hardneck) Origin: Unknown. This garlic has a mild flavor and pungency. Stores very well. Brilliant red cloves.

Purple Glazer (PG)
Purple stripe variety (hardneck) Origin: A true heirloom originally brought from the Republic Of Georgia. It is the best producing and most beautiful glazed purple stripe garlic. Plump cloves with almost satiny clove wrappers.

Pyong Yang (PY)
Asiatic variety (hardneck) Origin: North Korea north of Pyongyang. 6 to 8 cloves per bulb. Cloves are light brown with a rosy purple blush and elongated tips. Bulbs are blushed and purple striped. A light pleasant nutty flavor when baked. Stores well.

Garlic-Rose-du-Lautrec-MG-Michelle-Myjer

Rose de Lautrec (RL)
Creole variety (hardneck) Origin: the Lautrec region in the South of France. Exceptionally beautiful, much sought after, medium large heads. One of a handful of related varieties from the Lautrec region in the South of France. Light, subtle, elegant taste. Easy to grow and very reliable, except that it tends to have double cloves which can be mistaken for single, so can be a little tricky to plant. Typically a fairly early harvester. Excellent storage.

Rose du Var (RDV)
Silverskin variety (softneck) Origin: France. This garlic can, at times, be very hot in taste. Attractive bulb and cloves with nice reddish colors.

Russian Giant (RG)
Porcelain variety (hardneck) Origin: Russia. Large, hot, spicy, purple-striped. Produces very big heads having few large cloves. Excellent storage capability.

Spanish Benitée (SB)
Creole/Rocambole variety (hardneck) Origin: the Andalusia district of Spain. Spicy and exceptionally good raw. Excellent choice for vinaigrettes. Spanish Benitee has nice coloration and often produces bulbs with larger cloves than other Creoles.

Spanish Roja (SR)
Purple Stripe/Rocambole variety (hardneck) Origin: Spain. Excellent, mild flavor. Good storage.

Susanville (S)
Artichoke variety (softneck) Origin: California. This garlic is a reliable producer in warm climates as well as colder climates. A very long storing garlic. Mellow flavor good for pickling.

Thai Purple (TP)
Turban variety (hardneck) Origin: Bangkok market. This variety has purple blush on bulb wrappers. Light reddish mahogany cloves skins. Produces delicate tingle on tongue when tasted raw.

Ukrainian Red (U)
Rocambole (hardneck) Origin: Ukraine. An exceptional full flavored garlic that is spicy with a warm rich aftertaste. Excellent variety for raw use.

Xian (X)
Turban variety (hardneck) Origin: Named for its Chinese city of proximate origin. Asiatics tend to start and harvest early. Raw, its initial flavor is typically fiery. Rich and mellow when cooked.