We have been growing garlic since 1991, and have the great advantage of a climate that allows us to grow most varieties well. Our garlic seed comes from stock we’ve developed over the years on our farm, with some varieties a result of over 25 years of selection for the best quality bulbs. We only grow and sell garlic seed from varieties that perform well for us. Over the 28 years we’ve farmed, on three different sites, we’ve seen a wide range of growing conditions; from clay soils to silty; from cold and dry to too-wet-to-cultivate in the late winter; from cool, wet springs where nothing wants to grow and hot spring-summers when we’re irrigating in late March. These varieties have been productive and reliable enough for us as farmers to grow, and resilient enough to handle less-than-perfect conditions. Additionally we have chosen varieties which keep well for their type to ensure the longest possible sales and culinary window for farmers and gardeners.
Garlic requires a cold spell in its growing cycle to make a bulb. Apart from that requirement, there’s a type of garlic for just about every climate. As a basic rule, Softnecks prefer warmer conditions and Hardnecks prefer colder conditions. Many regions of the country can grow both, but if you have more extreme conditions, select those varieties best suited to your site. Additionally, softnecks tend to store better, especially Silverskins and Creoles, while Turbans generally have the shortest storage window.
We’ve found that the most important factors in producing great garlic, after variety selection and seed quality, is good fertilization, both at plant-out and in the late winter as growth resumes, and good early weed control, up to about early May. Garlics are shallow-rooted so cannot handle excessive hoeing if weeds get out of control, and they don’t compete well. Mulching or diligent weeding out of young weeds is a must. In hot dry springs, adequate watering in May and June prior to harvest dry-down will maintain plant health and keep pests from invading and slowing down growth. We also highly recommend a good, comprehensive soil test, beyond simply N-P-K, even for home gardeners. Organic amendments can be expensive and it’s a huge benefit to know what your soil actually needs. Fertilize correctly and you’ll be amazed at the difference in plant health, vigor and flavor! Check out our Garlic FAQs page for more growing information. If you need a copy of our organic certification you can access it here.
CERTIFIED ORGANIC SEED GARLIC
May 25, 2021 – we are now taking orders for deliveries beginning in September!
Our 2021 season is warming up! We are harvesting green garlic for our store culinary sales while we wait for the Turbans to set scapes. All of our varieties are growing well, now we just keep them weeded and wait for harvest! If you are interested in bulk quantities, email us and we will get you a quote and get you on the list.
Silverskins and Artichokes:
$13.50 for 8 oz., $20.00 per lb.
Bulk pricing, when available: 15 – 25 lbs. – $18.50 per lb. 25-40 lbs. – $17.50 per lb.
40+ lbs. $17.00 per lb.
Marbled, Turbans, Asiatics, and Creoles
$14.50 for 8 oz., $22.00 per lb.
Bulk pricing, when available: 15 – 25 lbs. – $20.50 per lb. 25 – 40 lbs. $19.50 per lb.
40+ lbs. $19.00 lb.
Gardener’s Variety Pack:
6 @ 8 oz. (3 lbs.) – $75.00
Homesteader’s Variety Pack:
6 @ 1 lb. – $125.00
For orders over 20 lbs. total weight, we will ship by UPS or Fed Ex and will need to calculate shipping based on your address.
To order at bulk pricing, or to order quantities over 20 lbs. total, or to pay by check:
please email us your order at “orders @ WhistlingDuckFarm . com” with your mailing address and we’ll get back with you with a total due and mailing address to send a check, or an invoice via Paypal.
PLEASE NOTE THAT WE CANNOT SHIP TO HAWAII OR OUTSIDE OF THE USA
but first... some delicious SHALLOTS!
Set-grown Shallots
We have a limited supply of these culinary treats. European set-grown shallots are referred to as "true shallots" are only grown from sets, not seed. They have a unique, mild sweet flavor that is much sought-after. Plant at the same time as garlic, on about an 8"- 10" spacing in the row, and they will form a clump of shallots from each individual set.
Dutch Yellow
8 oz. - $13
1 lb. - $20
GARLIC VARIETY PACKS
...a diversity of garlic
Plant all of our main types of garlic and enjoy a range of flavors all season, from early summer harvest to storage into spring.
Gardener's Pack
3 lb. seed garlic pack contains six 8 oz. bags. We'll consider your location and choose the varieties.
3 lbs. - $75
Homesteader's Pack
6 lbs. - $125
SOFTNECK VARIETIES
ARTICHOKES
Artichoke varieties are reliable, vigorous, long keeping and easy to grow. Their bulbs are large and their cloves tend to be big and easy to peel. Plus, they store nearly as well as silverskins. If there’s only room for one garlic in your garden or on your farm, this is the one to grow.
Inchelium Red – Whistling Duck Strain
8 oz. – $13.50
1 lb. – $20
Lorz Italian
A big flavorful artichoke type, this variety is an Italian heirloom brought to W
ashington State in the early 1900's. It has a nice spicy flavor and is part of the Slow Food, USA Ark of Taste, committed to preserving the best heirloom foods. It matures early and reliably produces large bulbs with big cloves, with a high ratio of seed to harvest yield. A great "workhorse" garlic for market or home use.
8 oz. – $13.50
1 lb. – $20
SILVERSKINS
Silverskins have shiny, clean white wrappers and thin strong necks, which makes beautiful braids. They harvest fairly late and keep the longest of all the varieties, providing fresh garlic well into spring, until you can harvest the first fresh garlic from the new season.
Silverskin – Whistling Duck Strain
A beautiful garlic with long, red-wrapped cloves and smooth silver-white outer cover. We’ve been selecting this strain for nearly 20 years, focusing on a high percentage of large cloves and a large overall bulb size. Makes great braids and is an excellent keeper. Strong-flavored cloves are fairly large and peel easily for a silverskin type. Bulbs can be large. Late harvest.
Available in bulk quantities. Please contact us for a quote.
8 oz. – $13.50
1 lb. – $20
Silver Rose
Smooth silvery-white bulbs with red-wrapped cloves. Excellent for braids and keeps well, with a medium-strong flavor.
Also available in bulk quantities. Please contact us for a quote.8 oz. – $13.50
1 lb. – $20
HARDNECK VARIETIES
TURBANS
Chinese Pink Turban
High yields, nice scapes and early harvest and make this an awesome farmer's market garlic! Great for pulling before cured to sell as fresh garlic since they bulb earlier than most. It's big, attractive, with big easy-peel cloves, great for first garlic at market, and first in the kitchen. Taste is rich and fresh after a long winter waiting for the new crop. Harvest is early, just after German Red and Spanish Roja. Use this variety first for a truly seasonal treat.
Also available in bulk quantities. Please contact us for a quote.
8 oz.- $14.50
1 lb.- $22.00
White Turban
Unique, beautiful pure white Turban, known as "White Crookneck" in Australia. Provides nice contrast in an early market display with purple turbans. Reliable and productive, large bulbs have nice flavor raw, with a fresh garlicy flavor sautéed. Very early harvest like other turbans, for first garlic scapes and first fresh garlic at market.
8 oz. - $14.50
1 lb. - $22.00
Basque Turban
A wonderful turban that came to us by way of Garlicana Farm in nearby Tiller, Oregon. A big, beautiful garlic, maturing early and great for first markets. Has a quick heat when raw, a delicious way to start the garlic season. Early harvest.
Also available in bulk quantities. Please contact us for a quote.
8 oz.- $14.50
1 lb.- $22.00
Red German Turban
This is a reliable, productive garlic, grown in Oregon for generations. It is very similar to our Roja, but a tiny bit earlier. Like our Roja, our Red German came to us described as a rocambole, however we have since determined it to be a turban, which also means it's easy to grow to nice big heads. Very spicy-hot raw, but rich and sweet when roasted. Medium-large bulbs with large easy-peel cloves. Earliest harvest, and keeps reasonably well, into winter.
Also available in bulk quantities. Please contact us for a quote.8 oz.– $14.50
1 lb.– $22.00
Red Spanish Turban
This came to us described as Spanish Roja, a rocambole, but like many strains of this type, we've determined it is in fact a turban, with large bulbs and big easy-peel cloves, about 8-12 per bulb. Cooked flavor is sweet and spicy, making it a delicious roaster. Handles colder winters well. Easy to grow, with early harvest, but stores reliably until winter. This variety has been a customer favorite for many years, both on the farm and garden and in the kitchen.
Also available in bulk quantities. Please contact us for a quote.8 oz.– $14.50
1 lb.– $22.00
PURPLE STRIPES
Marbled Purple Stripes are beautiful garlics, with purple on both bulb and clove wrappers. They typically have 8-12 cloves per bulb, which are elongated, crescent-shaped and fairly easy-peel. Storage is good, but not as long as Creoles and Silverskins. Their flavor is considered excellent, especially when roasted. Purple stripes also produce nice 3/4-curled scapes, for spring treats while waiting for the garlic to size up.
Whistling Duck Marbled
This is our own classic marbled strain. Excellent flavor, sweetens up when roasted. Large bulbs with purple-striped wrappers, 8-10 fat cloves per bulb, but occasionally makes 3-4 very large cloves per bulb when stressed. Late harvest. A very adaptable, productive market variety, and keeps well.
Also available in bulk quantities. Please email us for a quote.8 oz.– $14.50
1 lb.– $22.00
Siberian Marbled
Large bulbs with large brown-wrapped cloves. Lots of heat raw, mid-late harvest.
Also available in bulk quantities. Please contact us for a quote.8 oz.– $14.50
1 lb.– $22.00
Khabar Marbled
This Marbled type from Eastern Siberia is very productive, reliably making large bulbs. Pungent and hot, excellent roasted. Mid-late season harvest, stores well. Also available in bulk quantities. Please email us for a quote.
8 oz. - $14.50
1 lb. - $22.00
ASIATICS
Asiatic types are a diverse group of early maturing hard necks, usually producing a u-shaped scape and an extra-long beak, up to 18” long in some varieties. This type tends to be hot when raw, sometimes amazingly so. They typically have 6-10 cloves per bulb, with thick white bulb wrappers. We've been expanding our varieties of this type, and they're rapidly becoming our favorites, due to their interesting diversity and great flavor. The varieties we have in this type tend to emerge late in the fall, after all our others, allowing for flaming the bed for fall weeds before shoots come up. They mature mid-season.
Pyongyang
From the North Korean city of Pyongyang. Medium-sized purple-striped bulbs with 4-8 long, purple-wrapped cloves. Deceptively mild at first bite, becoming hot and spicy. Nice flavor when baked. Early-mid harvest. Note that this variety is often the last to sprout after planting, so be patient!
.8 oz.– $14.50
1 lb.– $22.00
CREOLES
Creoles are native to the Mediterranean, but do well in much of the US. They tend to be mid-late maturing and store well, almost as well as Silverskins, making them great for first market sales in the Spring. They have been less commonly planted in the U.S. and are a real taste treat, with a bonus of being completely beautiful to look at. The clove wrapper colors are brilliantly saturated reds and magentas.
Creole Red
This particular strain of Creole is a great performer after many years of selection, producing a truly beautiful and abundant crop of large bulbs for us this year. Excellent flavor, raw or cooked. Vibrant colored, larger cloves, 8-12 per bulb. Mid-late harvest, very long keeping. Highly recommended for storage for fresh garlic after other varieties have sprouted, and for first Spring market sales. The Creoles are relatively new on the scene in the U.S. and a great, unique addition to any meal and any market booth.
Also available in bulk. Please email for a quote.8 oz. – $14.50
1 lb.– $22.00
Aglio Rosso, aka. Rosso Di Sulmona
An excellent, unique red garlic from the Abruzzo region of Italy. This garlic has inspired more stories from our customers than any other. Tales of childhood memories and long searches for a culinary favorite. Large bulbs with sweet, unique flavor. Mid-late harvest and long keeping. Also available in bulk quantities. Please email us for a quote.
8 oz. – $14.50
1 lb.– $22.00