Softneck Garlic
Silver White Softneck Garlic is a cool-season crop that rewards patient gardeners with a full harvest 250 to 270 days after planting. Unlike hardneck varieties, softneck garlic produces flexible stalks and stores exceptionally well, making it a favorite for long-term pantry keeping. Plant individual cloves in fall, ideally 4 to 6 weeks before your first hard freeze, and by midsummer you'll be harvesting bulbs ready for curing and storage. This cultivar thrives in full sun to partial shade and needs just 12 inches of space in all directions to reach its potential.
Partial Sun
Moderate
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Perennial
Moderate
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Softneck garlic produces no central woody scape, giving you harvestable leaves and more usable cloves per bulb compared to hardneck types. The flexible stalks braid beautifully for storage and presentation, a practical detail that has made softneck varieties the standard in mild-winter regions and commercial operations. These bulbs cure to a papery white finish and keep for months when stored properly, making them ideal for gardeners who want to preserve their harvest through winter and into spring.
Silver White Softneck Garlic is used fresh and roasted, and the entire plant is edible. Young shoots and leaves can be harvested before the bulb matures, extending your harvest window. Once cured, the bulbs store for extended periods, making them valuable for cooking through winter months.
Plant individual cloves outdoors in fall. In areas with cold winters, sow from mid-September to mid-November. In mild-winter regions, garlic can be planted until January. Plant cloves 12 inches apart in rows 12 inches apart, pointy end up, at a depth that buries the clove completely with about 1 to 2 inches of soil above the tip. Garlic is frost-hardy but should be planted 4 to 6 weeks before the first hard freeze to allow roots to establish before ground freezes.
Harvest 250 to 270 days after planting, typically in midsummer. Dig when the foliage begins to yellow and dry back. Once harvested, cure the bulbs in a warm, dry, well-ventilated location for 2 to 3 weeks before storage to develop the papery white skin and ensure long keeping.
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