RE: [gardeners] garlic in Texas
George Shirley (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Wed, 30 Sep 1998 12:53:10
At 10:38 AM 9/30/98 -0700, you wrote:
>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.
Take the oriental lilies with you. I don't know anything about growing
conditions up yonder where you're going but they seem to grow well in the
ground down here on the coast. We tried some two years ago and they came
back strong this year so assume they are naturalizing.
>
> Thanks again for all the wonderful advice,
>Vicki, on the last sunny day in Seattle, and I'm not kidding about that.
>
George