Bulbils

[sublimekid]

Good morning everyone,

Can anyone recommend me some suppliers of Garlic Bulbils in Canada? (Other than garlicfarm.ca, i'm already talking with them).
Or maybe someone has some they might be willing to part with.

Also, i'd love to hear about some of your favorite varieties.

[PatrickW]

You might try Dan Jason of Salt Spring Seeds (or Seed and Plant Sanctuary of Canada):

www.seedsanctuary.com/

I think he normally sends out bulbs, but would probably send bulbils if you asked. Tell him Patrick of Bifurcated Carrots in Amsterdam said hi

As far as varieties goes, you might want to get a little bit familiar with the '10 garlic types':

www.patnsteph.net/weblog/2007/08/garlic-types/

It's not that every garlic variety isn't a little different, and some varieties can't be fit into this list of 10 types, but most garlic fall into one of these categories. If you start with 10-20 varieties, you might at least make sure you have one each of these 10. If you find one of these 10 that you really like, you might try looking next year for more of the same type.

You'll have a hard time getting creole types to grow in Ontario. It's not impossible, but they will be really small. My favorite all around garlics are the purple stripes and porcelains. The asiatics are also really nice, but they are trickier to grow.

[sublimekid]

Great info... Thanks a bunch. I'll definitly try out Salt Spring Seeds. Doing a bunch of varieties i thing starting with bulbils will be a good idea.


um, i know it's a bit off topic, but how is liking in holland these days. I know it's kind of a general question but, i'm half dutch, my mothers maiden name is starts with two A's. ;-) and my sister is leaving tomorrow to live in Utrecht for the next year. I hope to go visit her, and maybe stay and do some WOOFING. Private message me if thats a better idea.

[PatrickW]

WOOFING World Wide Opportunities On Organic Farms? This is what I get when I type it into Google, but I've never heard of it.

I'll quickly answer your question here, in case anyone is interested, but also PM you. Not being Dutch and living in Holland is hard, the Dutch don't usually like outsiders very much except in a very superficial way. You will never speak Dutch well enough not to be recognizable as an outsider, and so will never be included in inner circles of locals. In times of economic difficulties, like now, outsiders tend to get a disproportionate amount of the blame for things. The culture here is very different, and not to everyone's liking.

Learning Dutch is almost impossible, because everyone will speak to you in English.

Having said all this, living here can be a really good experience for a year or so, and I think your sister will probably have a really good time. WOOFING could be good or bad, like anywhere I guess, and all depends on the farm you end up at.

[flowerpower]

Are you planting cloves too?

[sublimekid]

yes, I am. I have some received from friends and whatnot. I'll plant what ever i can get my hands on.

Any suggestions?

[grunt]

sublime: check out www.garlicfarm.ca/

[flowerpower]

I like German Red, Italian Purple Stripe & German White. I do grow alot of spicey ones, though.

You'll have a hard time getting creole types to grow in Ontario. It's not impossible, but they will be really small. My favorite all around garlics are the purple stripes and porcelains. The asiatics are also really nice, but they are trickier to grow.

Why are asiatics more difficult?

[sublimekid]

Sept 1, 2009 12:04:32 GMT -5 grunt said:

sublime: check out www.garlicfarm.ca/

thanks for the suggestion, i'm already ordering from them...

[PatrickW]

Sept 2, 2009 4:55:47 GMT -5 flowerpower said:

Why are asiatics more difficult?

They are not really that much harder, but they tend to open up in the ground if you are late in harvesting them. You really need to harvest about a week or two earlier than other types. Yields are also lower.

For us we also have garlic rust, and they get this much faster than others.

In general they seem pretty fragile in the garden, and maybe not the best thing to try your first year growing garlic.

If you do have luck growing them, you can often be rewarded with some pretty spectacular garlic! Like Uzbek Turban www.patnsteph.net/weblog/2007/09/uzbek-turban-garlic/ This is a really tasty and aromatic garlic.

[flowerpower]

They are not really that much harder, but they tend to open up in the ground if you are late in harvesting them. You really need to harvest about a week or two earlier than other types. Yields are also lower

Thanks, that explains why some of my types are open. I thought it was just location. Like maybe it was a damp spot in the garden. Maybe I'll grab a few more asian types this yr.

[pattyp]

Hi sublimekid. I have some Chesnok Red bulbils you can have, if you would like. It is a Purple Stripe variety.

Patty

[sublimekid]

Sept 5, 2009 21:04:42 GMT -5 pattyp said:

Hi sublimekid. I have some Chesnok Red bulbils you can have, if you would like. It is a Purple Stripe variety.

Patty

Patty, thanks for your kind offer. I would definitely be interested in receiving some, if you have them to spare. Can you give me some idea about their condition, did you just harvest them?

i'd be happy to cover your shipping costs if you give me an estimate of what it might be and how i could get the money to you. My Canadian postal code is K0B 1R0.

Thanks.

[paquebot]

Aug 31, 2009 13:13:39 GMT -5 sublimekid said:

Great info... Thanks a bunch. I'll definitly try out Salt Spring Seeds. Doing a bunch of varieties i thing starting with bulbils will be a good idea.

I suspect that you may not know exactly what you are doing. You probably expect to get a lot of bulbs next summer by planting bulbils this fall. Other than a very few varieties, it ain't going to happen. Bulbil production is pretty much 3 different classes; small, medium, and large that equates to 3, 2, and 1 year. Extreme example would be Music which has bulbils not much bigger than a grain of wheat. Results after the first year are small rounds not much bigger than a pea. When planted back, those become rounds a bit larger than a marble the second year. It's not until the third year when a divided bulb is produced. When those cloves are planted back, a full-sized bulb is obtained in the fourth year. By contrast, my Martin's produces bulbils already the size of marbles. When those are planted, a proper divided bulb is harvested the following summer.

Oh yes, I've mailed bulbils to Canada before in case you want some of the Martin's.

Martin

[sublimekid]

Sept 8, 2009 22:07:33 GMT -5 paquebot said:

Aug 31, 2009 13:13:39 GMT -5 sublimekid said:

Great info... Thanks a bunch. I'll definitly try out Salt Spring Seeds. Doing a bunch of varieties i thing starting with bulbils will be a good idea.

I suspect that you may not know exactly what you are doing. You probably expect to get a lot of bulbs next summer by planting bulbils this fall. Other than a very few varieties, it ain't going to happen. Bulbil production is pretty much 3 different classes; small, medium, and large that equates to 3, 2, and 1 year. Extreme example would be Music which has bulbils not much bigger than a grain of wheat. Results after the first year are small rounds not much bigger than a pea. When planted back, those become rounds a bit larger than a marble the second year. It's not until the third year when a divided bulb is produced. When those cloves are planted back, a full-sized bulb is obtained in the fourth year. By contrast, my Martin's produces bulbils already the size of marbles. When those are planted, a proper divided bulb is harvested the following summer.

Oh yes, I've mailed bulbils to Canada before in case you want some of the Martin's.

Martin

I'm not sure what leads you to believe i'm not fully aware of the time involved. Thanks for your kind offer. I would be excited to receive any types you may have available. Can you give me a little description of the variety, and what quantity you have, what the shipping costs might be. By personal message if you like.

Thanks.