Australian Garlic
Celebrating and understanding our garlic groups and cultivars
Asiatic Group
Hardneck - Weakly Bolting
This cultivar falls into the Artichoke Group, Type 2 and shares its evolution with others in this sub-group from Formosan to Taiwanese and Taiwanese Purple. Long time grower Roger Schmitke selected bulbs from this heritage that produced larger bulbs and cloves then other cultivars grown in the 80s and 90s. These went to Queensland’s Gatton Research Station and over a 6 year period they were grown and selected and replanted, selecting only the biggest and best bulbs and cloves. In 1997 Southern Glen named and released.  See the Production of Garlic here
This day-length neutral cultivar is a very important cultivar for growers in warmer more northern regions.
General Information
International name/s:
Flavour: Variety of flavours, some very good, hot and complex.
Storage: Short to medium, 5-7months.
Growing location: New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. Also Tasmania and Southern Western Australia.
Growing requirements: Cool to warm regions, will tolerate some humidity.
Planting and harvest: Early to plant and early to harvest.
Bulb
Shape: Round flat or globe shaped.
Skin colour and texture: Pale pink or white often with purple stripe. Strong but splits easily if harvested late.
Clove
Number and layout: Usually a single layer of cloves, 4-8.
Size and shape: Plump and solid with blunt tips and rounded inner edge.
Skin colour and texture: Strongly coloured, deep purple or red purple, sometime brown or white, often glossy. Tight skins can be hard to peel.
Plant
Size and shape: Small plants growing to only 1m when scape is mature.
Leaves: Yellow-green leaves.
Young plants:
Matures: Goes from being not quite ready to harvest, to past the best time to harvest very quickly.
Scape: Short, drooping, thick. Does not need to be removed as scape does not much affect bulb size if left to grow. Appears late in the growth cycle. Plants may not bolt in warmer climates.
Umbel and beak: Distinctive umbel capsule like a dried bean pod with a long beak.
Bulbils and flowers: Few or no flowers. Medium to huge bulbils, 3-6 in the umbel. Often deep purple with an extended bulbil sheath.
Artichoke Group
Silverskin Group
Subtropical Group
Asiatic Group
Creole Group
Middle Eastern Group
Turban Group
- Flinders Island Purple
- Glamour
- Italian Purple
- Monaro Purple
- Ontos Purple
- Shandong
- Tasmanian Purple
- White Crookneck
- Xian