同学们， 想吃蒜苔， 就种 hard neck garlic

总看见有人叹气种大蒜吃不到蒜苔，我自己今年也没吃到，其实去年想种的时候，一来已经很晚了，忙活完花园都快11月中了，二来我其实知道个大概要种什么样的蒜，但太晚了买不到了，我就想用韩国店买的大蒜take a chance,结果没take 着，就是没吃到。原因是什么呢？  其实很简单，大蒜（Allium Sativum)分hard neck 和softneck两大类，hard neck (Allium Sativum Ophioscorodon)的是出蒜苔的，出了蒜薹剪掉才能结大蒜,你买来的大蒜头中间是一根硬棍儿，那就是了，如图

http://www.localharvest.org/images/cat/prod_14739_9200.jpg ；softneck (Allium Sativum Sativum)则不出蒜薹就会结大蒜，就是能结辫子的那种。超市里买的基本都是softneck,因为softneck贮存时间比较长。softneck中间那类似棍的东西实际上是一层一层的，软的，象图中这样。

有人说要买中国大蒜才能结出来，其实不然，美国可以买到很多种hard neck的大蒜，而且很多种不是oringinated from China。有些中国大蒜实际是soft neck, 但可以归到weakly hard neck, 这可能是有些人为啥能种出来。 下面这个分类我觉的very helpful,可以帮你找到要买的大蒜，而且，红皮，紫皮，白皮都各自有上乘货，很难说哪个优于哪个。 最后，到哪买，网上一google "hard neck garlic" 就都出来了。 Hardneck 分三大组： Rocambole, Purple Stripe and Porcelain. Softneck分两大组： Silver skin and Artichoke. Supermarket garlic is almost all sliver skin and artichoke from China or California.

1. Rocambole
Baba Franchuk's Dan's Italian German Red Killarney Red Korean Purple Puslinch Spanish Roja Spicy Korean Red

2. Purple Stripe
Chesnok Red Czeck Broadleaf Gaia's Joy Gourmet Red Khabar Metechi Modova Northern Siberian Persian Star Purple Glazer Red Rezan Siberian Vekek

3. Porcelain
Alberta hardy Dan's Russian Fish lake 3 Georgian Crystal Georgian Fire Italian Porcelain Leningrad Magical Magnificent Magnifico Majestic Melody Music Northern Quebec Polish Jenn Romanian Red Rosewood Susan Delafield Ukrainian Mavniv Wild Buff Yugoslavian Porcelain Zemo

4. Asiatic --weakly bolting (A shorter garlic plant that is about 3 ft tall when the scape is mature. Originally thought to be closely related to artichoke varieties, but further genetic analysis suggests it is a hardneck type. A flower stalk almost always forms under Minnesota conditions. ) ‘Asian Rose’ - A strong garlic, Harvests VERY early in season - stores about 5-6 months. ‘Asian Tempest’ - A strong garlic. Harvests VERY early in season - stores about 5-6 months. ‘Japanese’ – Early harvest, 4-8 cloves/bulb, stores 5 months, Hot ‘Korean Red’ - rich yet mellow. Harvests VERY early in season - stores about 5-6 months. ‘Pyong Vang’, Mid-harvest, 7-10 cloves/bulb, stores 6 months, hottest ‘Russian Redstreak’, A rare early season mild garlic; delightfully mild and full flavored with only a little heat, productive, stores very well, presents a nice appearance with an excellent raw flavor. ‘Gregory's China Rose’, Harvests early in season - stores around 6 months. - Excellent for growing in Warm Winter Areas. Rich earthy flavor.