Hardneck Garlic
Hardneck garlic grows well in our climate. Flavours may differ from area to area because of soils, growing methods, and weather patterns.
Our hardneck garlics are full and rich with flavour. Their heat ranges from mild to strong, so we have something for everyone. Hardnecks have fewer but larger cloves than softnecks. Their wrappers are not as tight or thick, which makes them easier to peel but shortens their shelf-life.
Hardneck garlic is garlic that has bolted – meaning, it has sent up a central stalk. We call this stalk the scape. At the tip of the scape is an umbil containing bulbils (miniature clones of the plant). Over time the scape rises and coils. If left on, the plant will put most of its energy into the production of the bulbils, resulting in smaller garlic bulbs.
Because some hardnecks only produce scapes under certain conditions, they have been divided into two groups: Strongly Bolting and Weakly Bolting.
All Strongly Bolting hardnecks produce scapes. We snap them off so the plant puts its energy into the bulb. Left with a bagful of scapes, we can either compost or eat them. We eat them. They taste marvelous: stir fried; sliced into salads; pickled; dried, ground, and sprinkled; or made into pesto.
We sell four varieties of Strongly Bolting Hardnecks:
Marbled Purple Stripe, Porcelain, Purple Stripe, and Rocambole.
Weakly Bolting garlic does not always produce scapes. Many varieties grown in warmer climates don’t even scape at all. Usually scapes appear as a stress reaction, especially in colder climates. We usually get a combination of plants with and without scapes. Interestingly, we find that the plants that do produce scapes, usually make larger bulbs.
We grow 2 varieties of Weakly Bolting hardnecks: