2026 garlic braids for sale

Monticello garlic workshop braids that remain to be claimed for your kitchen: # 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 25, and 29.

Braiding garlic is a tactile experience. Like tobacco, it is easiest to braid when it is “in case” as they describe tobacco. That happens in the early morning when there is a heavy dew which leaves the air full of moisture. Even though the Monticello braiding workshop is under a roof and high on the second floor so no dew falls on the plants, the leaves absorb that moisture and between 6:30 AM and as late as 9:30 AM (some days), I can hold the bunches of leaves in my hands and they feel silky smooth, pliable, and easily squished together, pulled tight, and folder over to make each braid.

**#29 Nootka Rose, new Allicin’s Ranch (2025) seed. 1XL 4L 2M 2S bulbs. Grown in McKee, KY and designed and braided in Monticello workshop $35.50**

Allicin’s Ranch description of Nootka Rose reveals why I chose to add this variety to Lynn Carnefix Production’s softnecks.

“This is a gorgeous silverskin heirloom softneck variety. It has pink hues throughout the predominantly white bulb. Inside, the cloves are cherry wood colored with pink and red streaks. Many skin layers make this a great keeper and it is ideal for braiding. 15 to 24 cloves per bulb, it is a high yielder. This very imperial looking garlic has a taste as bold as its looks. It has the full-flavored character typical of silverskins and its parchment-like bulb wrappers are easy to peel.

“Nootka Rose is just about always the last garlic to mature and be harvested and is often, if not usually, the longest storing garlic of all.

“Because it is a long-storing variety, you might want to grow some and save them for the time when your other varieties have already sprouted and are no longer in an ideal eating condition. It's worth having this one just for its decorative possibilities, even if you don't eat much garlic.”

Let me highlight Nootka Rose’s large size bulbs and large cloves inside those bulbs, silver white papers, easy to peel, and long storage life. Barb and I attest to it’s longer time to mature. It was still the bright green of continued growth when the other varieties’ tops had yellowed and were folding over—the sign that they have finished growing the bulb under the ground. We let Nootka Rose grow another week or so until they showed the yellowing leaves that indicated it was time to harvest. We lifted from the ground as many bulbs as the number of cloves we planted. That’s a great harvest.

I wish I could say all plants were sound, but, alas, I was so disappointed that two of the largest bulbs that I’d chosen for next season’s SEED, when I cleaned them, did not hold up under pressure from my thumbs. That’s the first sign that something is wrong in the center of the bulb. In this case, there were rotting cloves in the center. I took the bulb apart, discarded the rotten cloves and sent the huge, sound outer cloves to the kitchen to be peeled and diced or roasted whole with a delectable spread of fresh vegetables. Some people when served such a roasted dish leave the garlic cloves in the roaster. I encourage you to bite into a roasted clove and experience the rich and mild garlic flavor that has transformed its “bite” into a smoky flavor.