Description
Donostia Red is one of the rarest garlic varieties available in North America — a gourmet Creole hardneck from the Basque region of Spain with elegant, uniform bulbs, bold spicy flavor, stunning magenta-streaked cloves, and a cold tolerance that makes it the hardneck answer for southern and mild-climate growers. Multiple major seed operations cap or sell out of Donostia every season. We have 150 lbs available for 2026.
Why Donostia Is Hard to Find
Creole garlic as a type is far less common in North American seed stock than Porcelain or Rocambole varieties. Donostia specifically is rare enough that even the largest U.S. garlic operations limit how much any single customer can order. It sells out early, and farms that don't grow their own rarely have it at all.
Earthwise Garlic grew Donostia for the first time in 2026. The results were good enough that it will be a permanent part of the lineup going forward.
2026 Harvest Results
This was Donostia's first season on our farm. We planted some of the smallest cloves available — seed stock that by conventional standards would not be worth the bed space. The bulbs we harvested had doubled in size compared to what we procured the prior fall. Tight wrappers across the board. Every clove produced.
Donostia took hardneck grand champion in our 2026 harvest. For a first-year planting started from inferior seed stock, the return on investment was unlike anything we have seen from a new variety. It joins Music as a farm favorite going into next season.
The Hardneck for Growers Who Were Told They Couldn't Grow Hardneck
Most hardneck garlic needs a sustained cold period to vernalize — several weeks below 40°F to develop full bulb structure. In zones 6 through 9, winters are too mild or too short for most hardneck varieties, and growers in those climates are typically told to stick with softnecks.
Donostia Red Creole is different. Creole garlic evolved in warm climates and tolerates mild winters far better than Porcelain, Rocambole, or Purple Stripe types. It is cold-tolerant enough to perform in northern climates and warm-tolerant enough to succeed where other hardnecks struggle. It is the variety we recommend to anyone in zones 6 to 9 who wants the flavor complexity, easy-peeling cloves, and satisfaction of growing a real hardneck garlic.
Flavor and Kitchen Use
Sharp, assertive heat when raw that mellows into rich, full-bodied flavor with cooking. The deep purple-red skin and wine-red streaking on the cloves make it one of the most visually striking varieties available — elegant, uniform bulbs that look as good as they cook. Prized by gourmet cooks for its combination of looks, heat, and long storage. Roast it whole, slice thin into pan sauces, or use it anywhere you want garlic to be the centerpiece rather than background flavor.
Storage
Stores 9 to 10 months under proper conditions in a cool, dry space with good air circulation. Among the longest-storing hardneck varieties available — a significant advantage for growers who want a hardneck that keeps into the following spring.
Growing
Plant in fall, 2 to 3 inches deep, 6 inches apart. Mulch well after planting. Remove the scape in late spring when it completes its first full curl. Harvest mid to late July in most climates when the lower 3 to 4 leaves have dried. Performs well in zones 5 to 9, with particular strength in zones 6 to 9 where most hardnecks underperform.
How We Grow
Our farm is an ODA inspected and licensed nursery, inspected annually during the spring growth season. We use OMRI-listed organic inputs and practice crop rotation every season. No synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. Grown in Coburg, Oregon's Willamette Valley.
Package Sizes
Donostia Red runs about 56 cloves (roughly 7 bulbs) per pound. Approximate counts by size:
- 1/4 lb: ~14 cloves (~1.7 bulbs)
- 1/2 lb: ~28 cloves (~3.5 bulbs)
- 1 lb: ~56 cloves (~7 bulbs)
- 2 lb: ~112 cloves (~14 bulbs)
- 5 lb: ~280 cloves (~35 bulbs)
Counts are approximate and vary bulb to bulb, season to season. Use our Garlic Planting Calculator to estimate exactly how much you need.
Also available as part of the Bold Flavors Duo with Music, and the Southern Growers Duo with Inchelium Red.
Ships nationwide in September for fall planting. Free shipping on orders $60+.
