Kevin, it's a hair early for most varieties. My earliest usually come in late June or early July.

But let the plants _tell_ you if they're ready. When about half the leaves have yellowed and are turning brown, lift one of them. The bulb should be ready at that point.

BTW, you're missing a bet by not harvesting the scapes. In the second place, you get slightly larger bulbs by cutting the scapes. And in the first place, they are great to eat, so you're missing an additional harvest.

Gardenlad,
Are the scapes only on Hardneck? I am going to try some
softneck this fall 'cause my area isn't that good for hardneck. Can I do anything early with the shoots from
my softneck? Thanks

Tom

Scapes are definately a hardneck harvest unless the softnecks have been severly stressed. They are awesome stir fried, in soups and stews the list goes on. One of my favorites is in scrambled eggs.

TOM try German Red, Germain Porcelain or Korean Red for a good harvest in zone 8. They havent failed for me yet.

Warthog

Warthog is absolutely right. Softnecks only set scapes if they've been severely stressed. Which isn't too often, and is nothing you can depend on.

The early shoots from your softnecks can be used as green garlic. But then you won't get full heads later on.

Were it me, however, I'd plan on having both when fall planting. Set as much as you want for heads at the regular spacing, using only the largest cloves for that. Then use the smaller cloves, set about an inch apart, as a green garlic bed.

Turbans , ASiatics and creoles are considerd softnecks and they form scapes.
Tom,
If you want some scapes Try turban & asiatic types they grow well for us in NC zone 7 and should grow well for you.
We have had mixed results with hardnecks. Music grows well for us and our friends who grow it in eastern NC (zone 8).
We dropped german red this year because after 7 years we were still getting poor results. Some of the purple stripes seem to do better for us than most hardnecks. Elephant grows well here and this years crop is especially large. Getting local or regional hardneck seed might be the best choice.

Wow,
I had no idea you could utilize every
piece of the plant. I'm really excited about trying them this fall.
I'll try the ones you all have recommended.
I haven't had any luck finding some to purchase yet, but
I guess it's too early.
Thanks everyone
Tom

Tom,

I am probably right down the street from you. I grow a mix of varieties for year round consumption.

Elephant - great scapes although not technically a gralic, never fail to perform for me.

Softnecks
Kettle River Giant - Always huge bulbs but no scapes
Silver rose - Consistent yeilds every year of 2 1/2 to 3 inch bulbs but again no scapes.
Inchelum - The favorite on the forum but it has never performed for me. Two years and two bad crops.

Hardnecks
German red - I have been growing it for six years and it has yeilded well every year. Beautiful scapes that consistently grace my table.
German porcelain (german white, german hardy) - Always large perfect bulbs, scapes and a permanent addtion to my garden.
Chesnok - Consistent 2 inch bulbs, nice scapes (baking garlic)
Spanish Roja - The PNW heirloom has never done well for me and this year it is a total loss.

I have grown others with varying success. If you want more details email me and I will do my best to list the variety and restults.

Warthog,
We are just outside Grants Pass,
I appreciate all you help.
Tom

Mine are all hard neck and have not sent up more than a few very thin scapes so far. I dug a few that had no scapes yet, last month and found no garlic had formed yet. These had fallen and most of the greens were dying due to extreme water in the area. I think Z 6 still needs a bit more time for the scapes to develop before you cut them off, and then later on harvest the bulbs. Right now, I am spraying with foliar sprays for everything in my garden as the weather has been really wet, and very cool.