Georgian Crystal
Umbels, cloves, and bulbs

ORGANIC ONLY

Georgian Crystal

Porcelain
Allium Sativum Ophioscorodon

Accession Number: ALL 791, K 6819

Personality profile: Slow as a mule on the long intermountain trails of its homeland, Georgian Crystal makes its way into the blood and marrow, carrying the heritage of generations upon its strong back. A gentle creature, Georgian Crystal welcomes children and the sensitive of tongue to lean back and enjoy, not battle with sucking breath and watering eyes to tame a wild, bucking beast.

 
Cloves: Averages 4 large cloves per bulb. While the outer wrappers are brilliant white (hence the name Porcelain) the clove skins often tend toward purple, though they can be white as well.

Georgian Crystal scapes
Bulbils: Porcelains have the smallest of all bulbils, numbering in the hundreds per umbel. Select the largest 50% and plant those if you want good results. Harvest the resultant rounds at the same time as you harvest the bulbs. Even if all the grass like top growth has whithered and blown away, the rounds are still under there, waiting like Easter eggs for you to discover them (that's a hint; kids love to harvest bulbil rounds).

Growing: Nothing extraordinary to report about this cultivar as yet. A typical Porcelain cultivar with slender, regal leaves and a well curled scape. Scape removal is definitely recommended to achieve good bulbing and don't be surprised by browning of the tips early in the season. Porcelains tend to go brown in the leaf tips at the slightest indication of drought-like conditions, even while still growing strongly. Just be ready to water if necessary.

Harvest: Mid-season harvest. The wrappers are pretty sturdy on Porcelains and so the bulbs can stand waiting a bit longer before harvesting, maybe when 50 - 65% of the leaves are browning. Always dig down and inspect the bulbs to make sure they're doing well and use your own judgement. .

Storage: Porcelains are a good storing garlic. Expect 7-8 months.

Pedigree: Georgian Crystal came to North America in the mid 1980's after being collected by enthusiastic botanists in the village of Cichisdzhvari, Central Republic of Georgia. We came by it through the generosity of Henry and Sonia at Boundary Farm, who gifted us with a couple of bulbs when they visited our farm in 2011.