Early Red Italian Softneck Garlic
Early Red Italian Softneck Garlic
Early Italian Softneck is a must-have for Southern gardeners.
Early Italian is a softneck garlic with great flavor and good storage life. It matures early, ahead of summer heat waves. Early Italian produces large bulbs with 10-20 cloves per bulb. Italian is our longest-running garlic variety on our farm in central Arkansas, and has beaten out the crowd for long-term sustainability in a hot climate.
Long storage life, resisting dehydration until even late fall planting dates.
Heat tolerant and early to mature for a softneck.
Produces huge, beautiful bulbs with a mild, classic garlic flavor.
Easier variety to harvest (depending on planting depth) than some of our other varieties, due to a shallower root system.
Premium/Extra-Large Bulbs
Artichoke Variety.
Naturally Grown in central Arkansas. Local pickup available during fall season. Call for pricing and availability.
Fall Shipping
For guaranteed seed viability, select fall shipping. We will store the seed here at our facilities and ship it to you in time for your zone’s shipping date this fall. Fall shipping begins September 1st, beginning with northern zones.
Note: Ordering from the Deep South but don’t have enough time left this season to vernalize your seed?
Early Shipping
We offer early shipping! Are you a Deep South grower who needs time to vernalize your garlic Or just want to have your garlic on hand early? Early Shipping starts in July for softneck and September for hardneck, and continues until fall planting dates. Please note we cannot offer refunds for orders shipped early and you are responsible for your own storage conditions.
Growing Instructions
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Garlic is a winter crop. Plant after the first good frost in the fall.
For northern regions this is mid-October.
For the mid-west and upper south, plant early November.
Deep south growers and California growers may plant as late as January or February.
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Look out for these 3 things:
The garlic will be in the ground until early summer, so pick a spot you will not need for spring gardening.
Soil must be well drained if you have wet winters or springs. Raised beds or rows are wonderful for garlic.
There must be enough nutrients to feed the garlic through its long growing season. Garlic is hardy, but optimum bulb size is achieved through a good, rich soil. We mix in composted animal manure and top off with some compost or super soil.
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Separate the garlic bulb into cloves. Do this as close to planting time as possible as they will begin to soften quickly after separating.
Plant each clove pointy side UP, 2"-6" deep (the further north you are, the deeper you plant).
Space 5" apart, with 8"-10" between rows.
Don’t forget your grower’s guide!
The ultimate guide to growing, propagating, and marketing garlic! Southern Seed Garlic shares its best advice for new and veteran farmers. Whether you are growing a backyard patch or thinking about going large-scale, this guide gives you all the information and motivation you need to make your garlic grow.
79 page PDF download