Garlic

Garlic Production

Garlic is an Allium crop that shares the same family (Alliaceae) as onions. This fragrant bulb crop grows well in a variety of climates, and the best growing conditions and methods vary depending on garlic variety. In California, garlic is planted in the fall and harvested in the summer. Care must be taken to plant garlic in disease-free soil.

There are mainly two types of garlic: ophioscorodon (“hardneck”, “bolting”) and sativum (“softneck”, “non-bolting”). Hardneck garlic generally has smaller bulbs in more uniform size, while softneck garlic has larger, more numerous bulbs in varying sizes. In California, farmers mainly grow softneck garlic for commercial markets. Hardneck varieties include Porcelain, Rocambole, Purple Stripe, and Creole. Some commonly grown varieties of softneck garlic are California Early, California Late, and Silverskin. “Elephant garlic” is not a true garlic and is instead in the leek family. It has similar production and harvesting methods as garlic.

California is the country’s top producer of garlic, with production being concentrated in the Western San Joaquin Valley (Fresno and Kern). Garlic is also grown in the Southeast desert (Riverside and San Bernardino), eastern Sierras (Mono county), and the Central Coast (Gilroy and Hollister).

Aparna Gazula