RE: [gardeners] garlic in Texas

Victoria Okeef (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Wed, 30 Sep 1998 10:38:06 -0700 (PDT) 

Thanks to all of you for the wonderful discussion on garlic. Bill Loke is
right--the hard necks do form a false flower called a scape. I've been
told that they should be removed to encourage larger bulbs. I remove them,
however, for the same reason Bill does. They're delicious.

 I've never been a big onion grower here, so I'm pretty ignorant on that
score. I grow scallions, but the only onions I really like are the
Vidalias, 1015s and the Walla Wallas, and having performed a bunch of
"taste tests" with friends, I think the Walla Wallas are the sweetest and
mildest. I don't try to grow these here because they simply don't get
sweet and mild in our soggy climate. I'm a dummy when the discussion
turns to terms like short day and long day. What does that mean exactly? 

 I also wonder about the heat affecting hard neck garlics. I've grown two
varieties, one from Spain and one from Greece, and I know it gets hot in
those countries. 

 Be all this as it may, I think I'm going to try it. There are virtually
no garden beds at my mom's except one I made last Christmas to plant roses
in. I figured I'd try some of the garlic in a pot and some among the
roses. This latter notion seems like a good idea since I've been told
that garlic grown with roses will cut down on the pests. And planting 3"
deep sounds like a good idea, Margaret. I've noticed that it's pretty
windy there.

 So that sort of settles that in my mind. You can count on a gajillion
more dumb questions like this as I begin to figure out what I can take
from my garden here. I grow a lot of alpines in hypertufa containers, and
I have a hunch they won't get to go. I'm going to cry buckets if I have to
leave all my Oriental lilies behind--I grow these in lovely huge pots on
my back deck and they scent the whole house when they are blooming. But
this is enough for now.

 Thanks again for all the wonderful advice,
Vicki, on the last sunny day in Seattle, and I'm not kidding about that.