Kitchen Garden Forum

Is this a scrape half way up the stem of my garlic?

Dear Colin,
no, when you open it up you will find some garlic cloves (albeit somewhat misshapen ones); it is something that some varieties of garlic will do. There is nothing wrong with your garlic it has just had a very good year that's all.
Regards Sally Wright.

Oh good thats a bonus extra garlic.

Another question...Can I use this (all of it) for planting this year or should I buy new?

Dear Colin,
when replanting your own garlic it is best to use the big cloves from the outer ring of the bulb as the bigger the initial clove the bigger the bulb you will get. Use those from the inner ring and stem for cooking with. Plant them in September so that the plants get as big as possible before winter. In late March or Early April scatter some fertilizer around the plants; I use rose food because it is low in nitrogen and also cheaper than the specialist onion/garlic fertilizers. Keep them well watered and wait.
Regards Sally Wright.

Thank you for you help Sally.

I've never planted garlic before Christmas and usually start it off In individual pots and put them in the cold frame until the weather is suitable to plant them out. They do well and make good sized bulbs. Ive saved some of the good sized cloves to replant each year for the past 20 years and they are still good. I might try putting a few in in September to compare them.

My first time of planting garlic was in spring, last year I planted in autumn. The autumn ones were bigger.