Many people buy their "seed" garlic from The Garlic Farm (IOW). They had a stall at the Really Wild show in St. Davids last weekend and we had a chat with them. Their suggestion was to incorporate some sand into the soil as one of the most reliable ways of getting larger garlic bulbs. The easiest way seems to pour some into the hole before planting each clove.
Whilst our soil doesn't get very waterlogged over winter, I'd not come across this suggestion before, so plan to give it a try this autumn. A quick Google shows that it's already widely used by other people (eg. here) with some also recommending it for onions.
I'd be interested to know:
- If any of you are already doing this and whether you've seen much difference?
How this ties in with the need to ensure garlic doesn't get too dry during the Spring?
Guess they'd just need regular monitoring & more water in that event??