Allium sativumvar.ophioscorodon‘Polish Hardneck’
‘ Polish Hardneck ’ – which does n’t hail from Poland , but rather , from Ontario , Canada – is the ultimate garlic - lover ’s garlic .
It has a pungent , naughty flavour that mellows out with cooking , but it ’s not so red-hot that you ’ll be respire sulfuric fumes onto all your friends for the next few days .
We associate to trafficker to avail you find relevant ware . If you buy from one of our links , we may gain a committal .
Photo by Kristine Lofgren.
Each clove is fertile and cryptic , with a musky , intense , searing charge , all wrapped up in a loose cutis that makes peeling a breeze .
And as you probably guessed , ‘ Polish Hardneck ’ is a hardneck type , which imply it stores well for a long time .
You canlearn more of the basics in our guidebook to get Allium sativum .
Photo by Kristine Lofgren.
In this article , we ’ll speak all about where this garlic cultivar follow from and how to grow it in your garden . Here ’s what you may expect :
What You’ll Learn
Before we dive in , lease ’s elucidate a few thing . There are two variety of garlic : hardneck ( var.ophioscorodon ) and softneck ( var.sativum ) .
Hardnecks have a arduous cardinal straw that forms a blossom head word , though we commonly remove these to advance larger bulb output .
Hardneck type are planted in the dusk so they can have a flow of cold , sleep together as vernalization .
Within the hardneck subspecies , there are three groups : porcelain , purple peel , and rocambole . By the way , if you want to know more about the different groups , we have aguide that explains the 10 group of Allium sativum in detail .
Porcelain cultivars have only late gained attention in the US , but in the past 15 years , they have exploded on the market .
These are typically big cultivar with white-hot skin and bold flavors , though there is some variant among them . ‘ Polish Hardneck ’ is a porcelain mathematical group cultivar .
Cultivation and History
‘ Polish Hardneck ’ was first cultivated in Ontario , Canada by genus Allium grower John Yovanov and imported to the US by Rick Bangert .
Bangert throw some of the electric-light bulb to Filaree Farm , and Filaree has help oneself to distribute this variety show in the United States .
The cutis is thoroughgoing clean , hiding great , tear - shaped cloves with mottled empurpled skin . The bulb are great and contain four to six large cloves each .
If you like your garlic raw but not too hot , ‘ Polish Hardneck ’ will please . It has a barbed , full flavor without being too naughty when eaten raw .
falsify , it maintains its pungency with a deep , rich savour . Many multitude rank it as one of their favored types of Allium sativum . It ’s easy one of my favorites for roasting whole .
‘ Polish Hardneck ’ is a late - harvest character that grow well in cold climates . It boom in USDA Hardiness Zones 1 to 7 . You might be able-bodied to coax it to produce in Zone 8 , but nurseryman in Zone 9 or 10 should go for a different one .
Most porcelain are high-pitched in allicin , a sulfuric compound with antibacterial properties that lend most of that classic garlic sapidity to the medulla . ‘ Polish Hardneck ’ is particularly high in allicin .
Polish Hardneck Garlic Propagation
When it comes to source seed bulb , go with a reputable vender rather than using something you find at the grocery depot to ascertain you ’re getting healthy light bulb that are quick to grow .
Some agriculturist cover glean bulbs to prevent sprouting before bringing them to securities industry .
As with most hardnecks , ‘ Polish Hardneck ’ should be put in the ground about eight weeks before your first prefigure Robert Lee Frost date .
The plant life will go about setting down sturdy etymon before they go sleeping for the coldest months . They ’ll probably also get off up a few green shoots . Once the warmer springiness weather condition arrives and the days begin to get longer , they ’ll get straight to raise .
germ clove should be come in about three column inch cryptical and six inches apart . Do n’t remove the wrapper when you place each Eugenia caryophyllatum in the ground . Cover with ground and water well .
If you live in Zone 7 or lower , add a few inches of sawdust , straw , or rip up bark to protect the incandescent lamp .
take more here if you ’re search for more thorough instructions to disseminate ail .
How to Grow Polish Hardneck Garlic
These plant do well with full sun and sluttish , well - enfeeble soil . If you have heavy clay soil like I do , considergrowing your ail in containersorraised seam .
Once the plant start to show new growth in the spring , which typically happens a month or so after the shortest day of the yr and once the temperatures regularly climb above 45 ° F , hit any mulch you put in place .
Be careful not to disturb the plants . Any damage at this point can introduce gadfly or disease .
If you ’d care to suppress green goddess and help retain moisture , you may put down another layer of saucy mulch . Make this one about an column inch compact .
Speaking of moisture …
More so than many other types of Allium sativum , ‘ Polish Hardneck ’ need even moisture . If the source dry out out as they ’re modernize in the outpouring , they wo n’t bulb , or growth might be stunted .
With some type , you want to let the soil become a petty bit drier during the month prior to harvest home time . But do n’t countenance the grease dry out out around ‘ Polish Hardneck . ’
Keep the soil moist but not wet at all prison term . It should feel like a well - wrung - out sponge .
Once the plants are growing in earnest and the ground has thawed , it ’s metre to begin feeding . These bulbs are n’t a athirst craw , but they will do best if you give them some extra nutrients .
Any all - purpose intellectual nourishment is fine . I in person favour Down to Earth ’s All - Purpose Mix because it comes in a compostable box , is made using natural ingredients , and has never lease my plants down .
Down to Earth All - function Fertilizer
Purchase a one - pound , five - pound , or 15 - pound corner atArbico Organics .
Cut off the grim husk as it forms to encourage the plant to put all its energy into maturate the bulb . Keep weeds away from your plant , but do your weeding gently and carefully .
You do n’t require to go assault the soil with a rake and cease up damage a bulb or two . It ’s dear to pass on - wrench weeds .
Growing Tips
Where to Buy
As I mentioned , this cultivar is popular with garlic aficionado . Many strong suit retail merchant betray ‘ Polish Hardneck . ’ Look for it online , particularly in the dip when sellers start out ship their neckcloth .
you could sometimes encounter it topically , as well . I recently stumbled across some bulbs at a local gardening club , courtesy of a fellow penis who had been growing this variety and play some in to hand out at a merging .
You never know where you ’ll find this flavourful buster !
Managing Pests and Disease
Remember how we talk about allicin and how it creates that fantastic savour ? The plant did n’t develop allicin to appeal to our taste buds , much as we might wish to assume that ’s the case .
Allicin is in reality a brawny pest repellant . That ’s whygarlic is used in pesticide and as a companion plantto keep away many insect and herbivore invaders .
No parole on whether the allicin is what works against vampires , though .
No works is totally immune to problems , though . There are plague that obviously do n’t heed the sulphuric scent . We have a guide that explains the most mutual garlic plague and how to handle them .
Bulb touch , foliage mineworker , nematode , onion plant maggot , andthripsare the master baddies you might see .
The independent diseases to ascertain for with ‘ Polish Hardneck , ’ which is resistant to most fungal issues , are white hogwash and basal guff . Both of these are unmanageable to get by with because fungicides do n’t solve well against them .
Prevention is best in both case , and involves crop rotation , buying from true sellers , and contract care not to damage the bulbs , leave them expose to pathogens .
Basal bunkum is due to the fungusFusarium culmorumand exists across the world , so no one is dependable . The disease attacks the basal collection plate of the industrial plant , as the name indicates .
The basal plateful is that hard number at the bottom of the bulb that separates the garlic clove from the roots .
The extra pestiferous part here is that you wo n’t bonk anything is improper until the disease is quite ripe , since the damage is mostly pass underground .
You might eventually see yellow and dying leaves , but by that gunpoint , it ’s normally too late . You ’ll have to draw out the plant .
Rotate your crops on a regular basis , only place alliums in the same place once every four years . You should also source from seed seller that warrant their provision is disease - destitute .
White rot is another fungous issue , this one caused bySclerotium cepivorum , the generative form ofStromatinia cepivora . It ’s prevalent in temperate , moist climates and it live in the ground , even if an allium host is n’t present .
When the fungus attacks a plant , the leaves call on soft and yellow before collapsing . You might also see ashen , cottony growth or pitch-black espial .
You might have purchased onion plant or garlic before that gradually acquire symptom like this in storage . That ’s because the disease can hold out on the industrial plant even after it ’s harvested .
If you discover symptoms of this disease , draw in the works and dispose of them . you could safely eat on the undamaged portions of infected medulla if you absent and discard the diseased parts .
you’re able to learn more about garlic diseases in our templet .
Harvesting
After about 240 Clarence Day , a few weeks after the scapes go forth , take in the leaves of your ‘ Polish Hardneck ’ plants intimately .
Once about a third of them have turned yellowed or dark-brown and have fallen over , it ’s time to harvest your garlic .
If you ’re ever in doubt , drudge up a test bulb . Peel a few cloves and give them a taste . Is the grain and flavor as it should be ? Great , gently dig up all the rest of the light bulb . If not , await a week and test again .
Do n’t rend the plant by the tops , or you be given the risk of tear the park out of the medulla oblongata . Instead , gently dig underneath the incandescent lamp with a shovel or fork and lightly pry the plant up .
Curing and Storing
If this is your first timecuring ail , read our guideto see how the process mold . Cured hardneck garlic can loosely stack away for anywhere from three to six month .
‘ Polish Hardneck ’ is somewhere justly in the heart , lasting for up to about four month .
If you like pickled or ferment garlic , this is a good cultivar for that . The expectant Eugenia caryophyllatum retain all their wet and savor just as good a year down the road .
you could also freeze the peeled clove by soften them up and placing them in resealable bags . Press out all of the air and toss them in the freezer for up to a year .
Recipes and Cooking Ideas
The hide come off easily from ‘ Polish Hardneck ’ clove , so if you ’re like me and detest peeling garlic , you ’re going to love using this miscellanea . And as I said , it ’s a favourite of mine for guy whole .
I can make an intact dinner party out of roasting some sassy garlic and smearing it on sourdough dough dressed in olive oil .
I boom the clove on top of the dinero , and top it with a slight choppedtomatotossed with choppedparsley , crude , and salt , and a mizzle of excellent balsamic vinegar .
If you wish a good , strong chip of garlic flavour and you are n’t planning on making out with anyone that Nox , use the exquisitely chopped cloves in your favorite guacamole recipe .
Do n’t have a go - to of your own?Try this one from our sister web site , Foodal .
Quick Reference Growing Guide
The Garlic Lover’s Garlic
Everyone who tastes this garlic falls in passion with it . It ’s ample and naughty with plenty of depth , but it wo n’t make you yell with its sharpness .
If you have n’t tried it , yet , you ask to make it happen . It ’s fantastical .
Looking for someother interesting types of garlicto tot to your garden ? Check these out next :
Photos by Kristine Lofgren © enquire the Experts , LLC . ALL right hand RESERVED.See our TOSfor more details . Product photo via Arbico Organics . Uncredited photos : Shutterstock .
About
Kristine Lofgren
