Australian Garlic

Celebrating and understanding our garlic groups and cultivars

White Crookneck freshly harvested

White Crookneck clove arrangement

White Crookneck plant

White Crookneck freshly harvested

White Crookneck scapes

White Crookneck cloves

White Crookneck 6 months

White Crookneck

Turban Group Hardneck – Weakly Bolting

The history of White Crookneck and how it arrived in Australia is currently unknown. This cultivar is unusual because of its white bulb skins and white to pale pink cloves. Garlic in the Turban Group usually have strongly striped bulb skins and stronger pink or purple cloves. Many Turban cultivars have been misnamed or perhaps misidentified as Rocambole or Purple Stripe and this cultivar has been called White Rocambole. It is definitely not in the Rocambole Group as seen by its typically Turban scapes and typically Turban bulb and clove shapes. This cultivar has also been misnamed as Printanor. The true Printanor is a certified French cultivar in the Silverskin Group with white bulb skins and cloves with a pink blush in multiple layers. It does not usually produce scapes.

General Information

Other Names White Rocambole, White Hardneck
International Names None known.
Flavour Nice garlic aroma when cut open. Raw mild with a little bit of heat and pleasant taste. Sautéed nice garlic flavour.
Storage Short to medium to about 5-6 months
Growing location Grows well in most garlic growing regions in Australia including NSW, Victoria, SA, WA and Tasmania.
Growing requirements Not fussy, very easy to grow. Take care not to let the plants suffer water shortage and protect from extreme heat (over 35 degrees centigrade) during early bulb swell.
Planting and harvest Plant and harvest early to mid season. Planting March to May, harvest October, November.

Bulb

Shape
Large round flattened flattened bulbs typically 6 to 7cm.
Skin colour and texture
When freshly dug the skin colour is brilliant white. Skins remain white as they dry.
Skins are medium to thick and wrap the bulbs well but they are easily split & peeled and tend to split & flake away as they age. They may yellow with age.

Clove

Number and layout
In mild and warm climates there are usually 10 - 14 large cloves with typically 6 cloves in 2/3rd circle around center and another 4 cloves on the outside, wrapped a 2nd leaf skin which also has 2 to 3 cloves on the inside middle. The cloves sit out from the central scape when fat. In cooler climates there may only be 8 – 10 cloves in a single layer around the center.
Size and shape
Medium sized plump cloves with average weight of about 5gm. The outer cloves are plump with blunt tips and of similar size and shape. The inner cloves are a bit smaller. Most have 2 flat sides with few soft edges with the inside being somewhat rounded.
Skin colour and texture
Creamy white to light tan and sometimes very pale pink
Skin texture is fine to a little medium thick and whilst adhering tightly to the cloves they peel easily. Range from matt to somewhat shiny.

Plant

Size and shape
In mild to warm climates the plants are normally strong, but not overly substantial to 45 - 50cm ex scape. In cool climates the plants can be stronger and also quite substantial to 60cm and more.
Leaves
Medium width, long and floppy many fold ½ way along the leaf. Leaves spaced up the pseudostem with medium gaps.
Young plants
Strong well advanced compared to other groups in the first couple of months. Leaves well-spaced and lower leaves horizontal.
Matures They mature very fast with rapid bulb development just before harvest. Must harvest as soon as the bulbs are large enough to avoid badly split skins and also side shooting. In mild to warm climate the plants weaken near maturity and in some seasons they can lean or fall over especially with extreme unseasonal heat or lack of water. In cool climates the plants tend to remain strong
Scape
These garlics do produce scapes, but not always and they tend to be weaker than many other turbans.
Some seasons may get 100% bolt but typically some will bolt some will send out a weak scape which does not develop and some will not send out a scape.
Scapes develop late in the season and are often slow to grow. Typically the scapes do not coil but hang out at 90 degrees or upsidedown U.
Umbel and beak
Umbel is often smaller than other Turban cultivars but the beak is usually long to 25cm.
Bulbils and flowers
Usually no flowers. Bulbils vary depending on the season and on the strength of the scape but typically 15 to 50 bulbils. Various sizes 1 – 3x rice. Typically squat and roundish widest mid-bottom, with rounded ends. White with a green tinge, or pale pink.