Garlic Silver White Bulbs

Originally a California strain similar to Mild French, Garlic Silver White is one of the most prolific Silverskin varieties. It thrives in a wide range of climates, including those with cold winters, hot summers, and humid coastal conditions. Softneck garlic contains more cloves in each bulb than hardneck garlic, and their papery skins are wrapped tighter, keeping them fresher and giving them a longer shelf life. Softnecks mature later and store longer than hardneck types, and the bulbs become spicier the longer they’re stored. Garlic is a good source of allicin, a compound that gives garlic its distinctive smell and taste and appears to have many health benefits.

Garlic Silver White is an Allium sativum variety in the amaryllis family (Amaryllidaceae). Typically grown as an annual, garlic is an herbaceous bulbous perennial with flattened, linear, grass-like, medium green leaves. Softnecks do not flower or develop a scape, so the stems remain flexible, which makes them good for braiding. However, Silverskins will revert to wild garlic and send up a flower stalk if they are stressed by excessive cold or heat, by conditions that are too wet or dry, or by over or under fertilization.

Silverskins are the last of all the groups to harvest. They’re harvestable in summer, from early July in the South to late August in the North, when the lower 4 to 5 leaves are dry and turning brown. Hang the plants to dry for 2 to 3 weeks in a warm area with good air circulation, out of direct sunlight. Once completely dried, cut off the stem about 1 inch from the bulb and trim the roots.

Super easy to grow, garlic grows best in sunny locations with loose, fertile, moist, well-draining soil. Silverskins like lots of moisture from bulbing up to a week before harvest, but they don’t like wet feet or standing water. Garlic benefits from a nitrogen fertilizer applied at planting and again when shoots are 4 to 6 inches tall.

Garlic is an excellent companion plant in vegetable and flower gardens. It naturally deters certain garden pests, such as aphids, Japanese beetles, snails, deer, and rabbits, to name a few.

A cool-season vegetable, garlic can be grown in all USDA Zones and can be direct sown into the garden in fall for a summer harvest. But it can also be started indoors and transplanted in early spring, but the bulbs are typically smaller. Protect plants from heavy frost with mulch.