Gjelina Group Goes to the Market

Green Garlic

This Week at the Market

Written by Sam Rogers, Gjelina Group’s Farm Liaison

“Spring garlic?” — aren’t we in the middle of winter? You may think I’m a little early to be getting excited about it, but these first culled bunches, long before spring, are the best ones. This time of year, the garlic resembles a leek or scallion, juicy and papery and tender. This time of year, the farmers are going through their rows and thinning out some of the garlic bunches, to encourage the others to bulb-out. 

The first culled bunches of green garlic from Valdivia Farms, photos by Ry Essi

In Southern California, garlic is usually planted in early to late fall, to over-winter and be harvested the following spring. While above ground the greens shoot up quickly, below the surface it takes a comparatively long time for the bulb to round and separate into cloves. Before the heads form, the flavor is sweeter and less spicy. We enjoy a long green garlic season, and when it’s over we have regular cured garlic. If you’re at a farmers market and you’re not sure what you’re looking at, lean in and give it a sniff!

Sweeter and less spicy than regular cured garlic, photo by Ry Essi