New! - March 20, 2010 - We are now accepting early pre-paid online orders for sampler assortments for fall shipment. Click here to buy sampler assortments.

NEW! - March 18, 2010 - We now include an online garlic gardeners market where you buy direct from each market gardener - just like at your local farmers market. Click Here to order bulk Garlics direct from the growers -

- Rocamboles - the Gourmet Garlics With the Taste You Remember. - - Be Somebody - Eat Gourmet Garlic. - Rocambole Garlics - Updated February 26, 2010. Rocambole garlics tend to have thinner bulb wrappers than other ophios and lots of purple striping and splotches. Some of them are not as white as other ophios and seem to have a brownish cast to them, in fact, some of them almost look as though they need a bath. What they lack in beauty, they make up for in taste. Other rocamboles have sharp, vivid colors that alert the consumer to their strong, rich and deep flavor. Many people (including Ron Engeland-author of "Growing Great Garlic") consider them their favorite garlics. In the spring they send up a scape (stalk) that forms a complete double loop. (They're the only garlics that do a double loop.) They have usually seven to nine cloves arranged in circular fashion about a central scape and have few or no smaller internal cloves. Alas, they do not grow well in warmer climates such as ours. They require a colder winter and a cooler spring than we have here in central Texas. We have tried for years to "southernize" these garlics, but to no avail; they simply die in the ground before getting very big, so we don't yet recommend trying to grow them in warm winter areas. Warm winter denizens can and should buy them to eat because they're great. We don't even try to grow rocamboles commercially anymore because there are several excellent growers of these wonderful garlics located all across the northern tier of states and we buy from the best organic and sustainable growers we can find. There's no point in our trying to grow these things good enough to sell when there are so many whose climate does so much better. I envy them and I buy from them. To equalize matters somewhat, Creoles don't do well up North and growers up there envy the Creoles we can grow...it all works out. We select the best Rocamboles we can find from Northern growers and sell them to gardeners in cold winter areas and epicures everywhere in the USA. Their primary drawback, other than being fussy about growing conditions, is that they are among the shortest storing garlics of all, storing 5-6 months from harvest and seldom storing beyond New Years Day. Even though they have a short shelf life, they are excellent for slicing and dehydrating and will store for years once dehydrated and kept dry and the slices can be ground into an excellent garlic powder that is so good, you won't ever want to buy grocery store garlic powder again. Another way to preserve them is to pickle them as they make fabulous pickled garlic that gets better every year for about five years. For more information about preserving garlic: Click here to go to our Preserving Garlic webpage They more than make up for any of their shortcomings with their flavor. Did I mention flavor? Their flavor must be experienced to be believed - its depth is remarkable. They have a deep earthy muskiness about them that few other garlics have and they are fiery when eaten raw. Important notes for credit/debit card users: This Gardener's marketplace is like your local farmer's market. When using your credit/debit card to buy direct from different gardeners, a separate order is required for each gardener. You may buy as many different kinds of garlic as you want from any gardener on any order but each grower requires a separate order. If you want to order garlic from more than one grower, a separate order must be placed with each gardener. If you buy from a gardener and later cancel that order and buy from a different gardener, the credit card processing gateway still charges Gourmet Garlic Gardens the full processing fee plus an additional fee for processing the cancellation and also it places an additional clerical burden on us so, regrettably, we must charge a 10% cancellation fee when processing the cancellation because that's about what it costs us. My advice is to look around among the various market gardeners and decide what to buy from whom and then place your orders and stick with the gardeners you have chosen. If you would like to try a little garlic from several different gardeners, you can order a sampler assortment and request particular garlics from specific growers. Click here to check out our sampler Assortments. You must settle up your order (check out) from one grower before buying from a different grower - just like at your neighborhood farmers market. How Our Garlics are Grown Some of our growers are Certified Organic and some are Certified Naturally Grown, which we regard as equal to Certified Organic in every meaningful way but without all the bureaucratic rigamarole. All our market gardeners grow organically/sustainably but not all want to be certified and are among the best available sources of sustainable/organic Garlic We do not allow growers who use synthetic petroleum-based fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides or herbacides to participate in our farmers market. All garlic in our farmers market is grown in the USA, no imports allowed. This farmers market is strictly for small-scale American market gardeners/growers who live and grow sustainably.. Carpathian (Polish) Rocamboles grow better in cold winter gardens. Harvests early-mid summer - stores into mid-winter. - May be available in 2009 - ask for it in Sampler Assortments. - After ordering, use your back arrow key to return to this point. -- May be available in 2009 - ask for it in Sampler Assortments. -- Carpathian came from the mountains of the same name in Southeast Poland and is sometimes called Polish Carpathian. It is a generally good sized though not a particularly large garlic. Being a Rocambole garlic, its flavor is very strong, hot and spicy and sticks around for a long time. From a growers perspective, it grows well in cold winter areas and usually grows healthy surprisingly uniform sized bulbs. It has thin bulb wrappers that have a lot of purple and brown in them along with some reddish-orange veins. German Red Rocamboles grow better in cold winter gardens. Harvests early-mid summer - stores into mid-winter. - We will probably not have German Red this year. - After ordering, use your back arrow key to return to this point. - We will probably not have German Red this year. - German Red came to this country along with German immigrants a long time ago and I doubt if anyone knows where in Germany it originated. It is a generally a vigorous grower with large foliage that is dark green and results in a pretty good sized bulb. Being a Rocambole garlic, its flavor is very strong, hot and spicy and sticks around for a long time. It seems to have an especially rich taste. From a growers perspective, it grows well in cold winter areas and usually grows healthy fairly uniform sized bulbs. It has thin bulb wrappers that have a lot of purple and brown in them. German Red usually has anywhere from 8 or 9 easy to peel cloves that are of good size, with no smaller inner cloves. The outer bulb wrappers are thin and flake off easily so it is not a very good storer, but no Rocambole is. For those up north who want to grow their own garlic it only takes a year or two to grow all you can eat. It harvests in mid-season along with most of the other Rocamboles. Bulbs are usually over 2 1/2 inches in diameter and are of good size are grown primarily for their particularly rich flavor. Killarney Red Rocamboles grow better in cold winter gardens. Harvests early-mid summer - stores into mid-winter. - Easy to grow Rocambole for northerly growers. - - Sorry, Sold Out. - After ordering, use your back arrow key to return to this point, otherwise the secure shopping cart will return you to our home page. - Sorry, Sold Out. - -- Killarney Red's source of origin is unknown and is thought to have come from German Red or Spanish Roja, but is said to grow better than both these days. It is a generally good sized and can be a rather large garlic. Being a Rocambole garlic, its flavor is very strong, hot and spicy and sticks around for a long time. From a growers perspective, it grows well in cold winter areas and usually grows healthy surprisingly uniform sized bulbs. It has thin bulb wrappers that have a lot of purple and brown in them. Killarney Red usually has anywhere from 8 or 9 easy to peel cloves that are of good size, with no smaller inner cloves. The outer bulb wrappers are thin and flake off easily so it is not a very good storer, but no Rocambole is. For those up north who want to grow their own garlic, it is said to grow better in wet conditions than most other Rocamboles. It only takes a year or two to grow all you can eat. It harvests in mid-season but a little later than most of the other Rocamboles. Bulbs are usually over 2 1/2 inches in diameter and are of good size are grown primarily for their rich flavor and good growing characteristics. Amish Rocambole Rocamboles grow better in cold winter gardens. Harvests early-mid summer - stores through fall into winter. - Sorry, Sold Out. - After ordering, use your back arrow key to return to this point, otherwise the secure shopping cart will return you to our home page. - Sorry, Sold Out. - Amish Rocambole may be an heirloom garlic, who knows? (a garden plant whose lineage can be traced for a 100 years or more) It was grown in Wisconsin and comes to us from Gale Waege. It is a generally a vigorous grower with large foliage that is dark green and results in a pretty good sized bulb. Being a Rocambole garlic, its flavor is very strong, hot and spicy and sticks around for a long time. From a growers perspective, it grows well in cold winter areas, but does poorly in warm winter areas, and usually grows healthy fairly uniform sized bulbs. It has thin bulb wrappers that have a lot of purple and brown in them. I have a hard time deciding which hot garlic should be ranked where, but Amish Rocambole is certainly up there and I will just have to continue eating as many different ones as I can in an effort to improve. When I die, don't bother to bury me, just plant in the fall and water me, I'll probably sprout and grow. Amish Rocambole usually has anywhere from 8 or 9 easy to peel cloves that are of good size, with no smaller inner cloves. The outer bulb wrappers are thin and flake off easily so it is not a very good storer, but no Rocambole is - through the fall and into winter. Great taste is their claim to fame, not long storage. For those up North who want to grow their own garlic it only takes a year or two to grow all you can eat. It harvests in early summer along with most of the other Rocamboles. Bulbs are usually over 2 1/2 inches in diameter and are of good size are grown primarily for their particularly rich flavor. Purple Italian Rocamboles grow better in cold winter gardens. Harvests in early summer - stores through fall into winter. - Sorry, Sold Out for 2009. - After ordering, use your back arrow key to return to this point, otherwise the secure shopping cart will return you to our home page. - Sorry, Sold Out for 2009. - Purple Italian is rare because it is an Italian rocambole that was brought to the USA from Italy around a hundred years ago and has been grown all over Northern states ever since. It is thought to have come from northern Italy since it is a rocambole that probably won't grow well in southern Italy. Most other Italian garlics are artichokes and a few silverskins. When is the last time you remember an Italian rocambole? Purple Italian is a generally good sized and can be a rather large garlic. Being a Rocambole garlic, its flavor is rich and strong, but not overly hot and spicy and sticks around for a while. A very enriching taste experience but not one to burn your tongue (at least not until the garlic is a little too mature). From a grower's perspective, it grows well in cold winter areas and usually grows healthy surprisingly uniform sized bulbs. It has thick bulb wrappers for a rocambole and they have a lot of purple and brown layered across a white background - very attractive. Purple Italian usually has anywhere from 8 or 9 easy to peel cloves that are of good size, with no smaller inner cloves. The outer bulb wrappers are thin and flake off easily so it is not a very good storer, but no Rocambole is. For those up north who want to grow their own garlic, it is said to grow well in wet conditions. It only takes a year or two to grow all you can eat. It harvests in mid-season along with most of the other Rocamboles. Bulbs are usually over 2 1/2 inches in diameter and are of good size are grown primarily for their rich flavor and good growing characteristics. Italian Easy Peel Rocamboles grow better in cold winter gardens. Harvests in early summer - stores through fall into winter. - Sorry, Sold Out for 2009. - After ordering, use your back arrow key to return to this point, otherwise the secure shopping cart will return you to our home page. - Sorry, Sold Out for 2009. - Italian Easy Peel is rare because of its incredible ease of peeling, thus its name. It is an Italian rocambole that was brought to the USA from Italy around a hundred years ago and has been grown all over Northern states ever since. It is thought to have come from northern Italy since it is a rocambole that probably won't grow well in southern Italy. Most other Italian garlics are artichokes and a few silverskins. When is the last time you remember an Italian rocambole? Italian Easy Peel is generally good sized and can be a rather large garlic. Being a Rocambole garlic, its flavor is rich and strong, but unlike most Rocamboles its taste is milder rather than hot and spicy. A very enriching taste experience but not one to burn your tongue. For those who love garlickiness without the burn, it's for you. From a grower's perspective, it grows well in cold winter areas and usually grows healthy uniform sized bulbs. It has thick bulb wrappers for a rocambole and they have a lot of purple and brown layered across a white background - very attractive. Italian Easy Peel usually has anywhere from 8 or 9 easy to peel cloves that are of good size, with no smaller inner cloves. The outer bulb wrappers are thin and flake off easily so it is not a very good storer, but no Rocambole is. For those up north who want to grow their own garlic, it seems to grow well in wet conditions. It only takes a year or two to grow all you can eat. It harvests in early summer along with most of the other Rocamboles and stores through fall into mid-winter so it's not a long storing garlic. Bulbs are usually over 2 1/2 inches in diameter and are of good size are grown primarily for their rich flavor and good growing characteristics. I recommend growing Rocamboles along with Porcelain garlics because they are a great pair. Rocamboles harvest a month or so before Porcelains so you have garlic early in the season. Porcelains harvest later but store much longer so you still have good garlic long after the Rocamboles are only a memory. Korean Red AKA Korean Red Hot Rocamboles grow better in cold winter gardens. Harvests early summer - stores through fall into winter. - - Sorry, Sold Out for 2009. - - After ordering, use your back arrow key to return to this point, otherwise the secure shopping cart will return you to our home page. - Sorry, Sold Out for 2009. - Korean Red is a generally a vigorous grower with large foliage that is dark green and results in a pretty good sized bulb. Being a Rocambole garlic, its flavor is very strong, hot and spicy and sticks around for a long time. From a growers perspective, it grows well in cold winter areas, but does poorly in warm winter areas, and usually grows healthy fairly uniform sized bulbs. It has thin bulb wrappers that have a lot of purple and brown in them. I have a hard time deciding which hot garlic should be ranked where, but Korean Red Hot is certainly up there and I will just have to continue eating as many different ones as I can in an effort to improve. When I die, don't bother to bury me, just plant in the fall and water me, I'll probably sprout and grow. Korean Red Hot usually has anywhere from 8 or 9 easy to peel cloves that are of good size, with no smaller inner cloves. The outer bulb wrappers are thin and flake off easily so it is not a very good storer, but no Rocambole is - through the fall and into winter. Great taste is their claim to fame, not long storage. For those up North who want to grow their own garlic it only takes a year or two to grow all you can eat. It harvests in early summer along with most of the other Rocamboles. Bulbs are usually over 2 1/2 inches in diameter and are of good size are grown primarily for their particularly rich flavor. Spanish Roja Rocamboles grow better in cold winter gardens. Harvests late June-early July - stores into the winter. - - Sorry, Sold Out. -- - After ordering, use your back arrow key to return to this point. - Sorry, Sold Out - Spanish Roja, an heirloom garlic, (a garden plant whose lineage can be traced for a 100 years or more) came to the Portland, Oregon area over a hundred years ago and was originally known as Greek or Greek Blue garlic. It is a generally a vigorous grower with large foliage that is dark green and results in a pretty good sized bulb. Being a Rocambole garlic, its flavor is very strong, hot and spicy and sticks around for a long time. It seems to have an especially rich taste. From a growers perspective, it grows well in cold winter areas, but does poorly in warm winter areas, and usually grows healthy fairly uniform sized bulbs. It has thin bulb wrappers that have a lot of purple and brown in them. Spanish Roja has been Ron England's favorite garlic and he has said that when well grown, its flavor is that of true garlic. That sounds lika a pretty strong endorsement and he probably has a more discriminating palate than I, because there are so many whose distinctive taste attracts me, I have a hard time deciding which should be ranked where, but Spanish Roja is certainly up there and I will just have to continue eating as many different ones as I can in an effort to improve. When I die, don't bother to bury me, just plant in the fall and water me, I'll probably sprout and grow. Spanish Roja usually has anywhere from 8 or 9 easy to peel cloves that are of good size, with no smaller inner cloves. The outer bulb wrappers are thin and flake off easily so it is not a very good storer, but no Rocambole is. Great taste is their claim to fame, not long storage. For those up North who want to grow their own garlic it only takes a year or two to grow all you can eat. It harvests in mid-season along with most of the other Rocamboles. Bulbs are usually over 2 1/2 inches in diameter and are of good size are grown primarily for their particularly rich flavor. How Our Garlics are Grown Some of our growers are Certified Organic and some are Certified Naturally Grown, which we regard as equal to Certified Organic in every meaningful way. All our market gardeners grow organically/sustainably and are among the best available sources of sustainable/organic Garlic. We do not allow growers who use synthetic petroleum-based fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides or herbacides to participate in our gardener's marketplace. All garlic in our farmers market is grown in the USA, no imports allowed. This gardener's marketplace is strictly for small-scale American market gardeners/growers who live and grow sustainably. Bob Phillips' Texas Country Reporter did a story on me and the garlic for their long running TV program - click here to see the 6:28 video on youtube: Bob Anderson Garlicmeister, a self-inflicted title for amusement only. Photo courtesy of Bill Yeates. Gourmet Garlic Gardens 12300 FM 1176 Bangs, Texas 76823 (915) 348-3049 [ Our Home Page ] [ Online Catalog ] [ Garlic Overview ] [ 40 Varieties ] [ Growing Garlic ] [ Cooking with Garlic ] [ Chemistry of Garlic ] [ Garlic Pills & Oils, Etc. ] [ Health Benefits ] [ Links ] [ FAQs ] [ How to Order Garlic ] [ Sampler Assortments ] [ Pickling & Preserving Garlic ] [ Artichoke (Softneck) Garlics ] [ Asiatic Garlics ] [ Creole Garlics ] [ Porcelain Garlics ] [ Purple Stripe Garlics ] [ Rocambole Garlics ] [ Silverskin (Softneck) Garlics ] [ Bob's Blog ] [ Growing Garlic in the South, California & Texas ] [ Tour our Garlic Garden ] [ Paint Rock Pictographs ] [ Newsletter ] [ Garlic is Life Symposia ] [ Good Growers Wanted ] [ About Us ] [ About Our Place ] Our site is always under construction. - This page last updated March 20, 2010. If you would like to communicate with us, please send email to: bob@web-access.net Gourmet Garlic Gardens 12300 FM 1176, Bangs, TX 76823 1 - (325) 348 - 3049 - bob@web-access.net Our website been visited over two million times by people looking for good garlic and up to date garlic information since August of 1997. Thanks one and all.