I'm also in Virginia, and I've been growing garlic for many years. I would say that your choices should be based on what's important to you. I grow lots of elephant garlic, because of the huge cloves and the fact that you can easily store it for over a year - a definite plus for ensuring you have year-round garlic. It's mild enough to be sliced thin on a sandwich or in a salad as is. Not many garlics are good like that. My other choices are based mostly on clove size - I prefer that the cloves be large, because I like using a lot of garlic and don't want to be peeling a bunch of tiny cloves. So some of my other varieties have huge heads and huge cloves - but I get a little dissapointed that they don't last as long as the EG. For others it may be about flavors, but maybe I'm just not as discriminating, though I'm aware that some is possible to add to recipes raw, and others are unbearable unless cooked.

I find that German Extra Hardy, a porcelain variety, will last for a year. You know that the Elephant Garlic is a leek and not a garlic? Flavor is not strong enough for most garlic lovers as well.

Take a look at what is available at a local farmer's market and get that kind.

You should look at collection of varieties available from Southern Exposure, most of which have been selected from organic farms in your area. Choose two or three to start with, and you can't go wrong.

Also, plant your garlic by sometime in October for here in Virginia. Works far better than waiting for spring.

Yes, plant the week of Halloween. It will keep the vampires away! At least it has always worked for me :) No vampires and great growth in the spring with good sized bulbs.

I just use the vampire thing to help me remember when to plant...I'm not so sure vampires even exist!

Don't neglect to plant back some of the biggest of your own cloves this fall. Don't worry so much about the total bulb size; it is the clove size that counts most. Lots of folks started out with supermarket garlic and are satisfied.

I have had good results with Music, Japanese, Siberian, VietNamese Red and lesser returns with some others, but I am way out of your territory. Furthermore there are some I intend to spring plant next year, after proper refrigerator chilling.

I checked Southern Exposure.

Organic really isn't a big thing to me, so I'm not going to pay $30/lb plus a shipping surcharge for each variety from them.

Anyone have any more reasonably priced suggestions? Any specific types?

Old dutch, I'll check those out...thanks.

I was just saying to look at the Southern Exposure varieties. Doesn't matter where you get your planting stock, and I agree that costs should be reasonable.

Do understand that "seed garlic" is the kobe beef of garlic. Only the biggest, healthiest bulbs make the grade, and they are larger than garlic sold for eating. You pay more for cream of the crop.

At my local farmers market a guy is selling beautiful organically grown garlic of 3-4 strains -- $8 lb for food grade, $12 lb for planting stock.

Well garlic is very hardy and can pretty much grow any were. There are a lot of good sites to buy from. You could try Jubilee Produce