I recognize that my (now Zone 8a) experience will be different than your 6b/7a, but I have been regrowing store bought green onions for many years and it seems unusual to me that your experience is that they are always dying over your winter. I actually pick bundles at the grocery store which have as much root remaining as possible just because I like growing them back. Are you maybe over-harvesting your green onion tops?
When I use store bought green onions I’ll usually leave about an inch of stalk above the root when I chop them in the kitchen, pop that bottom into a teacup with a bit of water and place it on a windowsill to start the roots going, then plant them into the garden. Since green onions are generally grown from seeds that won’t produce onion bulbs (take a look at the explanation of seeds for green onions that Johnny Seeds has on their website, for instance) I just pop them into an opening in my garden and let them go to town for years. I love seeing their white flowers open, oftentimes being pollinated by whatever happens to be nearby.
I’m hoping to be able to afford more raised beds because I don’t think we need to protect garlic from wildlife. So I could use that hardware cloth covered raised bed for things they do eat like kale and other greens.
Hopefully someone will chime in if they have found wildlife munching on their garlic plants.
German extra hardy is new to me. The Red German has been great though. So far I leave most of them in the ground to harvest scapes. Also, the topsets can be used like mini cloves. They continue to come back each year with no issues. So far anyways.
I tried some soft neck and wasn’t all that impressed. The hard necks have a lot more punch to the flavor. The only reason grocery stores sell soft neck is because they store longer.
@ dragonflylane, I had my garlic bed ‘disappeared’ by some underground creature. I have evidence of rats, gophers and some obscure ferret family who appear to share tunnels in my raised bed. Actually watched as one garlic was tugged underground. Wasnt sure how they were disappearing prior. Your bed appears to be ground contact, without wire underneath? If they havent been bothered by tunneling critters you may be fine moving them and repurposing the raised bed.
that’s surprising as voles and mice here hate garlic and avoid it like the plague. some folks put them around their trees and bushes to dissuade them from chewing them up. you must have different critters than me.
I end up letting mine grow much more than I ever intend to harvest, treating them much like an ornamental planting, so when I take scissors and cut off one section of the multiple leaves that each plant has grown it isn’t really causing undue stress.
