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Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

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Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

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Friday - September 30, 2011

From: Fort Worth, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Non-Natives, Seed and Plant Sources, Edible Plants
Title: Need source for garlic to plant in garden in Fort Worth, TX.
Answered by: Jimmy Mills

QUESTION:

Where can I get or purchase a native Texas garlic to plant in my garden?

ANSWER:

Mr. Smarty Plants is assuming that the garlic you want to plant is for culinary use. The plant used for this purpose is Allium sativum which is not a Texas native.  The Texas natives with the name garlic are Allium canadense (Meadow garlic) and Allium drummondii (Drummond's onion). Both can be eaten, but they don’t have the large cloves that one would use in the kitchen.

There are at least 600 varieties of A. sativum that are grown and eaten world wide.
These three sites can tell you more about garlic and where you can obtain garlic sets.

   examiner.com how to grow garlic

   gourmetgarlicgardens.com good source for garlic sets

   hoodrivergarlic.com  good source for information and sets

 

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