We cleansed our palates with some rich, buttery crab dip and Ritz crackers. Heaven knows it's not easy to cleanse your palate of garlic... I will say this, I was a bit afraid at the start that after all my time growing garlic I might discover that the differences were too subtle to detect, or that I like the store bought garlic better. I was tickled to find that the differences were tremendous and the store bought garlic was by far my least favorite. I strongly suspect that the differences will become more muted after cooking, as so much of the difference was in the amazingly different aromas. The Music and German Extra Hearty had such pleasant, fruity aromas.

I had a good year with German Red, I keep about 50 around just in case I change my mind and want to grow them again. I doubt that will ever happen since they are a roc and I hate growing the rocs. But, I have some nice ones if you change your mind. I have 1600 Nootka Rose, this was an odd year in that 40% sent up a scape which ruined the bulb. In four years i've never seen that happen. I have a some Korean also...it should have a lot of red in the wrapper. you would know if you mixed the Korean with Music or German White...they are very different. Yes, check out Karens site, she's the best. I had great results with the Estonian also. Glad you had a good season Tig

@ gardenguyvt I will answer your questions from the top down. Reread R.Engeland,Growing Great Garlic, again.I been reading it 2or3 times a year and been reading it for many years.He writes about having severe mold problems in the bulbs after harvest and not keeping till xmas even until they started leaving the scapes on till just before harvest.I was having the same problem myself till I started leaving the scapes on,now they keep till spring and I have about 200 pounds of 2 1/2" to 3" bulbs for sale but of course they have been cleaned and ready for sale.Also have the same amount in planting grade;2"-2 1/2". The descaped bulbs do get bigger,but do not keep as well which is an important feature if you want to enjoy your garlic for a longer period of time also the larger bulbs have cloves that have multiples that sprout with 2-3-4 plants and anything more than two are a real mess ie.no commercial value. As far as selling scapes at the farmers mkt.is dependent on the supply and demand, and the supply usually exceeds the demand.The most important thing to remember about growing large bulbs is to feed heavily as garlic is the second heaviest user of nitrogen next to rhubarb.I mix blood meal,fish meal,cotton seed meal,dried pelleted chicken evenup and a half ratio of kelp as its about $1#,applying one pound per 10sq.ft.of bed I only put it on the bed and then till it in.In spring when the spears begin to show fertilize again with a water soluble product such as Alaska fish using a hose-end sprayer;heavily until you get nervous and then around Mothers Day(mid-May)or do as Engeland did,foliar spray every two weeks which can be difficult when you have a lot of rain.I do best with Spanish Roja as it is more resistant to rain/mold damage and grows the largest and more uniformly than the other stiffnecks.I am not supposed to list my commercial site as I understand it but you can contact me 1.360.482.4948 BILL

Chris. Do you want to plant ASAP after the Garlic is pulled? If so most Brassicas like Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage do well transplanted in late July or early August, and as Redsun said bush beans would also work well. July would be a little early for spinach, lettuce, or radishes but just wait until late in August before planting those and be ready to provide shade if it is still much over 80. Jim -in my Zone 6a I usually harvest garlic between June 10 -20 most years depending on type. Shallots are closer to July 4th for me.