Hot garlic

[Grahame]

I have a second variety of garlic, a large white soft-neck garlic that I just harvested (only enough to replant next year). The problem is I don't know exactly which variety it is as I have sort of collected a couple from organic grocers and other places. So my thought was that this one would be a mild flavour, given it is quite a large one. I thought I may have got myself confused and that this was the 'Russian Garlic' (which incidentally is actually more closely related to leeks) which is generally a milder flavour. So I thought I'd have a clove this morning! HOLY COW! It was a bit like eating a jalapeño pepper! My eyes watered, my tongue screamed for respite. I felt content. :)

I think I may have lost my Russian garlic somewhere in my disorganisation.

I didn't eat a whole clove in case I became a bit overpowering for the other people in my life. I might as well eat the whole one now ;)

I will sleep well tonight knowing I won't be needing Buffy tonight :)

[purplepear]

I won't be needing Buffy tonight

I find it hard to believe this little gem slipped past the radar. could it have crossed with horseradish of sumfin Gman?

[Grahame]

;) Not that she's not welcome.

Could be a new horsegarlic I guess. The wet and humidity is making it hard to get the garlic dry and cured :(

[SueUSA]

I was talking to a friend who always orders his oriental food 'hot enough to make my head sweat', and he said he one restaurant told him there is an Asian garlic that is reputed to be the hottest/spiciest one known. It is called 'Pyong Vang'.

But weather stress will also make regular garlic hot.

Sue

[purplepear]

The wet and humidity is making it hard to get the garlic dry and cured

We are copping it too Grahame. It looks like we could loose 10 percent to softness/rot.

[sun burn]

PP what causes softness in garlic exactly? Is it not being dried out properly?

[Grahame]

We are copping it too Grahame. It looks like we could loose 10 percent to softness/rot.

Yeah, a lot more rot than I originally thought. To add insult to injury, the bulbs that do seem to have cured well have only a thin covering of skin. I think this is due to the soul staying damp for so long that we got a type of a collar rot. While the collar didn't actually rot, many of the outer leaves decomposed at soil level. We also found that the cloves have more bruising/rot at about soil level (say 2/3 up the bulb). A little frustrating, but I'll take all the extra water - it was a boon for the young trees this year. We really haven't had to water the trees yet, with the exception of the odd one or two.

Sunburn, It is a combination of the soil being moist right up to when the garlics really needed to start drying out in the soil. Even when I eventually did get them out, already a little late, I just had to wait for a couple of dry days in a row. The extra problem we have had is with the unusually humid air, which has made the drying and curing process longer and thus more open to rotting.