Last autumn, while at the Mother Earth News Fair, I picked up a bag of Inchelium Red Softneck Garlic from Southern Exposure Seed exchange.
I was a little leery about planting a softneck variety because I understood that they didn't do well in our harsh winters. So I thought I would try planting them in the high tunnel and mulch them with a heavy bed of chopped leaves.
Wow did I have success! I ended up with softball sized garlic heads. They have a wonderful mid-range garlic taste and are easy to peel! Here's what Southern Exposure wrote:
[Originally from the Colville Indian Reservation, Inchelium, WA.] Higher in soluble solids than other garlic varieties we offer, in 1991 it won first place among 20 varieties evaluated for flavor at the Rodale Food Center. Clove count averages 15 per bulb with a wide variation in clove count. Inchelium Red has out-produced Chet’s Italian Purple, formerly our most productive variety. Produces bulbs in excess of 3 in. in diameter under good conditions.
The largest heads will be broken apart and replanted in a couple of days. In our zone, Columbus day is always my target date for planting garlic for next spring's harvest.
