Hi Tom,

Softnecks generally store longer because the clove skins are very tight and seal the clove better.

Are you sure what you have is a softneck? There is very little information on "French Pink" on the Internet and I don't find any sites selling it, but "French Red" - a hardneck Rocombole - is quite popular. If what you have is French Red, it has a rather short storage.

TomNJ

yes you are correct, the tighter skins seal the cloves, seems i have forgotten more than i remember. higher sulfur compounds also enable longer storage but the combination should contribute to the longest storage. typically, softnecks store longer but of course not all softnecks store the same duration.

is it french pink or red? i have no idea. i bought it 3 years ago locally from an organic farmer in morris at a farmers market. he may have been incorrect with the name, i have found some contradictions before so i would not be surprised.

i figured my softnecks would store longer than my hardnecks. surprisingly this softneck is the 1st to sprout! and yes, this is a softneck, no scape, irregular clove size and positioning around the center and no stalk or neck the cloves are in the center just like grocery store softneck garlic.

i grew french pink and nootaka rose the past 2 seasons but dropped them this fall to grow just hardnecks because the bulbs are larger and hardnecks are much easier to peel.

it was a bad season for garlic (constant heavy rain and lots of humidity right up thru harvest) and the storage of some varieties is bad. my music (from morris farmer) is drying out and not storing well. same for german red and german white. my korean red is storing the best of the hard necks and the georgian crystal also stored well but is gone. last year these 2 did not store this well and the music stored much better. i bought music from another local organic farmer (harwinton) for new seed stock in august and his music that i did not plant is holding up much better than my music (from morris farmer), gr or gw. i wanted to try a different music as the farmer from morris was my original source for all my different varieties. i expect to not plant music from morris this fall 2009 and instead switch to the music i planted this fall from the harwinton farmer. it appears to be hardier but time will tell come harvest and storage next year.

tom