Germidour
Germidour was developed in France and first introduced to Australia in 1994 when the AGIA imported 132 cultivars of garlic. The CSIRO number was 135537. Unfortunately this garlic did not survive. This cultivar has been imported more recently by several growers. The description of the French Certified garlic named Germidour can be found here. It is a softneck with semi-erect growth, dark green wide leaves and a strong wide pseudostem. It does not produce a scape. The bulbs are large, rounded with a concave base. The bulb skin is white with some purple striping and blotching. Cloves are pale brown and numerous.
The description of the cultivar called Germidour in Australia is below.
General Information
| International Names |
Germidour NGPS database number PI 615430; W6 1962 but this may not be the same garlic as the one grown in Australia. The French cultivar was developed from Violet de Cadours. |
| Flavour |
Mild, mellow, sweet, low heat, fruity when raw. Sautéed mild with some garlic flavour. |
| Storage |
Good, medium to long
|
| Growing location |
Grows well in most locations where garlic can be grown. Likes a bit of dry heat. |
| Growing requirements |
Quite easy to grow as long as the winters are not warm to hot and the maturing season not too humid
|
| Planting and harvest |
Early to mid season for planting and harvest. |
Bulb
| Shape |
Generally lumpy and round, flat or teardrop shaped. Medium typically to 6cm. In warmer areas bulbs can become elongated almost oblong shape. Flat to concave base.
|
| Skin colour and texture |
When first dug skins are white, some having a few purple splotches. They dry to white or slightly off white. Skins are a bit coarse and tough on the outside and hard to break into but thinner and finer as you move toward the inner skins.
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Clove
| Number and layout |
Typically 12 to 18 cloves in 3 layers. In warm winters the bulbs tend to have an outer layer with a large wide clove either end, a middle layer with 3 large cloves and an inner layer with a few small cloves. Does not usually produce double cloves.
|
| Size and shape |
Various size and shapes with typically a couple of medium to large, a few medium and a few small cloves. The outer cloves are fat, wide and rounded with no sides a concave inner surface. The inner cloves are thinner, taller and some have distinct edges. Average weight of 9 gm for the large outside cloves and average weight of 5gm for next layer cloves.
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| Skin colour and texture |
Varies depending on the season. Can have a little purple striping on dark tan and sometimes light tan or slight purple blotching at tops on creamy tan. Others are creamy pink. Outer clove skins are quite thick and hard adhering tightly to the cloves and difficult to peel but once split they peel more easily. The inner clove skins are thinner and a bit fiddly to peel
|
Plant
| Size and shape |
Substantial but short to about 60cm mature, strong pseudostem, wide and spreading. In less ideal conditions can grow narrower and weaker but still deliver a good bulb.
|
| Leaves |
Broad, mid to pale green at 45° to pseudostem and typically fold in middle.
|
| Young plants |
Very substantial but almost no height to the pseudostem
|
| Matures |
Pseudostem becomes soft and easy to squeeze at the base. All the leaves close together at the top of the plant in a fan shape
|
| Scape |
None
|
| Umbel and beak |
None
|
| Bulbils and flowers |
No flowers but on rare occasion may develop 1 or 2 bulbils in the pseudostem.
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