We're saying a temporary farewell to our beloved Doukhobor Russian garlic! While stunning and flavorful, it appears our Montana high elevation and extremely frosty winters might be a bit too much for this beauty to thrive. We haven't given up hope though! We're constantly trialing new varieties, and hope to revisit Doukhobor Russian in the future when we have some acclimation magic under our belts. In the meantime, explore our other amazing hardneck garlics that flourish in Montana's unique climate!
Doukhobor is a beautiful garlic and, it is one of my favorite! The taste is really nice and we only grow a few hundred of these each year. When they are gone, they are gone! The bulbs are to medium size. The larger bulbs and cloves are great for planting. The smaller culinary garlic is perfect for eating.
Doukobor is a Rocambole variety that is known for its deep, robust flavor. The flavor is the big winner here. Rocamboles are considered by many, as being the best tasting of all the garlics.
Doukhobor Garlic have medium-sized bulbs with a taste that is hot at first; the aftertaste is sweeter. Heads averages 8-12 cloves. Skins peel easily and are light brown with purple shadows.
Apparently, this variety was introduced to British Columbia by Doukhobor immigrants from Russia in early 1900's.
Bulbs have 5 to 10 cloves, with easy-to-peel, brownish-red skin on the cloves. The initial taste is very hot; the aftertaste is sweeter. The plant likes cold climates. It belongs to the Rocambole sub-group of hardneck garlics.
GroEat Garlic is shipped beginning in September, depending on the season and the variety. Quantities are limited; order early for best availability. Sorry, not available to Idaho or Canada.
DOUKHOBOR (Hardneck, Rocambole)
Doukhobor Russian is planted in the fall, soon after the first frost and a few weeks before the first hard frost. The seed garlic bulbs should be taken apart into separate cloves not long before planting. Hardneck garlic requires vernalization (exposed to a period of cold temperatures) before or after planting. Plant cloves two inches deep, the pointed side up. Garlic does best with a loose soil with very good drainage and a pH of 7.0 optimum. This garlic also requires full sun. Avoid planting these in areas that are wet or damp. Plant in mounded rows or a raised beds with well-drained soil. Avoid clay soil.
Plant in well drained, rich soil, amend with organic matter, such as compost. Mulch the garlic with straw or chopped leaves, this helps protect from extreme winter conditions, keeps soil evenly moist and controls weeds for next season. Cut off scapes when they emerge (the curly seed stalk that will rise from the middle of the plant) so plant can put its energy into producing the bulb, not seed head. You can leave scapes on, producing smaller bulbs and the bulbets from the seed head can be planted for full sized garlic in 2 years.