Music Hardneck Garlic - (Allium sativum)

Music Garlic - A Symphony of Flavor for Your Garden

Grow a symphony of flavor in your garden with Music garlic, a cherished heirloom porcelain hardneck variety renowned for its complex taste and extended storage life. Its large, easy-to-peel cloves offer rich, complex, yet nuanced tastes, starting with a subtle sweetness that gives way to a lingering warmth and hints of black pepper and roasted nuts. This unique balance makes Music garlic adaptable to a range of dishes, its complex flavors mellowing beautifully with cooking.

Details

Music is a Porcelain-type hardneck garlic, a group renowned for producing beautiful, uniform bulbs with a striking, pure white wrapper. What sets Music apart is its sheer size and heft. It consistently produces large, impressive bulbs that typically contain 4 to 6 enormous, easy-to-peel cloves. A single clove of Music can often be as large as a whole bulb of lesser garlic found in supermarkets. This variety is also known for producing a beautiful garlic scape in late spring—a tender, curling flower stalk with a mild, garlicky flavor that is a prized culinary treat.

History

In the heart of Southwestern Ontario, Canada, during a shifting agricultural landscape, a remarkable garlic variety emerged - Music. In the early 1980s, Al Music, a tobacco grower near the village of Boston, Ontario, sought alternative crops as tobacco's profitability dwindled. With garlic gaining popularity in North America, Al experimented with its cultivation, developing a Continental variety (now known as Porcelain) perfectly suited to his soil and climate. The transition to garlic required minimal capital investment, as existing tobacco infrastructure proved suitable for garlic cultivation.

This hardneck garlic variety offered numerous advantages. The large cloves were easy to peel; they possessed a robust garlic flavor with a pleasant bite; they were easy to grow and produced large bulbs with substantial cloves, and restaurant chefs found them easy to work with. Its appearance, notably different from the imported softneck garlic dominating supermarket shelves, provided a clear market differentiation.

In 1985, Al and 12 other growers, united by a shared vision, formed the Ontario Garlic Growers Association (OGGA) to standardize and promote this unique strain. They christened the garlic 'Music' in honor of Al's pioneering spirit. Subsequently, planting stock was offered to other growers to expand production.

Effective marketing and the memorable name 'Music' solidified its place as 'Ontario Garlic,' writing another remarkable chapter in Canada's agricultural heritage.

About Hardneck Garlic

Music is a "hardneck" type of garlic, a distinction that is key to understanding its growth, flavor, and culinary potential. The "neck" refers to the stiff, woody central stalk that extends from the bulb—a stalk that will become the delicious bonus harvest of young "garlic scapes" in the spring.

Garlic is broadly divided into two main categories, and while the softneck varieties are what you typically find in supermarkets, hardneck garlics are prized by chefs and growers for their remarkably complex and robust flavors. They are often described as richer and spicier, with a more pronounced "garlicky" essence. This intensity varies across different hardneck groups, from the mild sweetness of Purple Stripes to the fiery heat of Rocamboles and the deep, musky character of Porcelains like Music.

While hardnecks are famously cold-hardy and thrive in northern climates, it is a common misunderstanding that they cannot be grown in warmer southern regions. The secret to success in these zones is a process called vernalization. If your area does not experience a regular winter freeze, you can simulate this necessary cold period by refrigerating your seed garlic for at least 40-50 days prior to planting. This procedure triggers the bulb formation process, allowing you to grow this exceptional northern garlic even in a southern garden.

Uses

Music's versatile flavor lends itself to a variety of kitchen creations, from blending into sauces and dips to infusing olive oils, vinaigrettes, and relishes. Try chopping it into salsa for a zesty kick or mincing it into herb-based spreads for a flavorful sandwich experience.

• Roasted - Beyond its fresh uses, Music garlic reveals a depth of flavors when roasted. Roasting the bulbs whole caramelizes their natural sugars, intensifying their inherent sweetness. This roasted garlic can be tossed into pasta, spread on crusty bread for a simple yet satisfying appetizer, or blended into mashed potatoes and purees for an extra layer of flavor.
• Kitchen - Music garlic seamlessly integrates into a myriad of dishes. Add it to stir-fries for a quick flavor boost, simmer it in soups, curries, and chili for richness, or melt it into grilled cheese for a savory pop. It beautifully complements meats like sausage and shrimp and harmonizes with roasted root vegetables.
• Unexpected Pairings - Though unconventional, garlic's subtle warmth can surprisingly enhance desserts like chocolate and ice cream. Caramel sauces also benefit from the unique touch of garlic cloves.
• Scapes: A Bonus Harvest - Music garlic plants yield flavorful scapes in the late spring to early summer. These scapes are perfect for quick spring pasta dishes or pickling.
• Complementary Flavors - Music garlic harmonizes beautifully with diverse herbs, including parsley, cilantro, basil, and rosemary. It also complements meats like pork, poultry, and beef, as well as vegetables such as tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, eggplants, and broccoli.

Companion Planting

You will find that Music garlic is a beneficial neighbor to a wide range of garden plants. It is particularly well-suited for planting alongside members of the brassica family, such as broccoli and kale, as its strong aroma is known to deter common pests like cabbage moths. It also grows well near tomatoes and peppers.

You should avoid planting garlic where other members of the allium family (onions, leeks) have recently grown to prevent the buildup of soil-borne diseases. It is also best to keep it away from asparagus, peas, and beans, as garlic can inhibit their growth.

Planting and Growing Tips

As a hardneck variety from a cold-winter region, Music garlic requires a period of cold exposure (vernalization) to stimulate proper bulb development. Gardeners in Zones 3-7 should plant cloves in the fall, about 4 to 6 weeks before the ground freezes, allowing the natural winter cold to do the work. In warmer climates (Zones 8-10), this is best achieved by pre-chilling the cloves in a refrigerator for 8 to 12 weeks before planting in the coolest part of fall.

Break the bulbs into individual cloves just before planting, keeping the papery wrappers intact. Plant the cloves pointed-end up, about 2-3 inches deep and 4 to 6 inches apart, in a site with full sun and loose, well-drained soil rich in organic matter. After planting, apply a thick 4- to 6-inch layer of organic mulch, such as straw or shredded leaves. The mulch insulates the soil, conserves moisture, and provides excellent weed suppression. In early summer, remove the scape once it has formed a distinct curl to direct the plant's energy into bulb formation.

Our article, "Grow Great Hardneck Garlic at Home," walks you through the details of growing the most delicious garlic you've ever had!

Harvest Tips

Music garlic offers you two distinct harvests from a single planting. In late spring or early summer, your garlic plants will send up a flowering stalk known as a "scape." You should snap or cut this scape off once it has formed a loop to encourage the plant to direct all its energy into bulb formation. These tender scapes are a delicacy in their own right, with a mild, fresh garlic flavor.

Your main harvest of the bulbs will be ready in mid-to-late summer, when the lower leaves of the plant begin to turn yellow and fall over. Carefully lift the bulbs from the soil with a garden fork. To cure them for long-term storage, bundle the plants in small bunches and hang them in a warm, dry, and well-ventilated area for several weeks before trimming the roots and stems.

Learn More

• Grow Great Hardneck Garlic at Home
• Peel Garlic in 10 Seconds
• Korean Pickled Garlic
• Honey Pickled Jalapenos with Garlic

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