2026 Garlic Varieties
| Cultivar | Type |
|---|---|
| Silverwhite | Softneck |
| Nootka Rose | Softneck |
| John C Mystery | Hardneck |
| Metechi | Hardneck |
| Chesnok Red | Hardneck |
| Music | Hardneck |
I’ve grown all of these varieties before, except for the John C Mystery. I received that last year from a fellow gardener at the community garden. They have been growing it for years, having originally received it from an old gardener. Where he got it from is a mystery. It could be an existing cultivar, but i have no way of knowing. I was just told by the gardener that had it that it was a great cultivar, produced nice large heads and very few cloves. I was happy with it - I plan to plant it again this fall.
The other varieties are all types I had grown before - they all have had at least two generations in my garden. I think the silverwhite bulbs were especially large this year, but i also had a lot of the wrappers split on them well before harvest. I usually harvest beginning of July, but by the solstice I had silverwhite bulbs that were visibly splitting.
Nootka rose is a beautiful variety. It produces much smaller bulbs than silverwhite.
Overall I’m happy. Garlic is such a rewarding plant to grow. It stores well with little effort. I’m now using my hardneck (setting aside enough to plant) and giving a bunch away. I braided my softnecks and I’ll wait until the hardneck is gone to start using them.