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Ag extension agents have experimented with growing garlic in the islands. Click the link for full details. If you've never enjoyed fresh picked or recently picked garlic, it's a treat. I grew it on the mainland and the cloves are pungent and aromatic, far better tthan what you buy in the grocery store.
If you want to try growing garlic yourself, Uyeda said Filaree Farm in Washington state will ship garlic seeds to Hawaiʻi. He recommends the German Extra Hardy variety.
https://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/the-co...griculture
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Use the link for the garlic if you are interested. It's called GERMAN WHITE STIFFNECK on the Filaree store if you look for it there.
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I'm skeptical even with a special variety. Hawaii is mostly a hardiness 11 zone. To me success is doubtful but maybe in Volcano village or slopes of mauna loa somewhere.
There are fundamentally two kinds of garlic: hardnecks and softnecks. In the simplest terms possible, hardnecks are the most rugged and cold hardy of the garlics. They grow best in Hardiness Zones 1-5. In order to form healthy bulbs, they need to experience at least 10 weeks of cold. This period of cold exposure is known as vernalization. If the garlic plant does not experience a sufficient period of vernalization, it will not produce a bulb.
Softnecks are less cold hardy than hardnecks. Most softneck varieties grow best in Hardiness Zones 5-7 with a very few varieties able to form bulbs in Hardiness Zones 8-9. Softnecks must also experience a period of vernalization, but it does not have to be as long nor as extreme.
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(08-28-2021, 01:22 AM)Or1on Wrote: Softnecks are less cold hardy than hardnecks. Most softneck varieties grow best in Hardiness Zones 5-7 with a very few varieties able to form bulbs in Hardiness Zones 8-9. Softnecks must also experience a period of vernalization, but it does not have to be as long nor as extreme.
I planted softneck garlic in 2021.
No bulbs formed so far.
I eat the green leafy parts and they are good.