Garlic

[Loirette]

Can you help?

I recently harvetested my garlic and whilst it tastes good, the bulbs/heads were 'open' and not tight as you would expect.

Any ideas what may have caused this?

[FelixLeiter]

I recently harvetested my garlic and whilst it tastes good, the bulbs/heads were 'open' and not tight as you would expect.

Not planted deeply enough.

[Binky]

Mine split as well - but only some of them. Felix: you seem to know a lot and I have got to the point where I want to progress beyond the advice given in popular gardening books and magazines. Could you (or anyone else) recommend any reference books to take me to the next level? Thanks.

[Loirette]

Hi Felix

Thanks for the info. I'll plant deeper next time.

[Elle's Garden]

On the subject of garlic, I planted some cloves of garlic brought back from France in April under a 'bung it in and see what happens' policy.

Well the cloves have now become very small bulbs, so my question is: Can I now use these small bulbs to plant in the late autumn - I understand this is a more normal planting time - or should I use different ones for growing?

Which leads me to a second question: do you guys just use garlic from the supermarket to split and plant, or do you choose garden centre stock?

Many thanks,

[nannygreen]

I grow garlic on the 'bung it in and see' principle too. I brought garlic back from Gran Canaria early on in the year (probably illegal) and planted in late Feb. Autumn plantings are a waste of time, it's too wet and cold and if anything does grow the mice, pigeons or rabbits eat it. I also planted 'proper' seed garlic and my usual of supermarket cloves (those grown in France do better rather than Israel) plus some of last years saved crop. The Gran Canaria grew but made small bulbs rather than cloves-probably too cold for it. The supermarket did fine but the saved did the best, better than the proper stuff! Perhaps it's because the garlic has got used to my soil and climate?

[Binky]

I get my garlic from the Isle of Wight Garlic Farm. I don't know if you ever go over to the island, but if you do you can choose your own bulbs. Otherwise, use their website (http://www.thegarlicfarm.co.uk). They have a wide variety of different types to experiment with and their stuff is always nice. I know that some people just buy supermarket garlic and grow it successfully , but I worry about whether it will be harbouring some horrible disease.

I have tried both autumn and early spring planting. I usually get a better crop from the autumn planting.

[Elle's Garden]

Thank you - seems like an experiment may be in order! I will have a look at the IOW site too.

[hilary]

Hi,
I normally plant autumn garlic but this year didn't get a single bulb - the stalks died back early and obviously the cold and wet got to them this spring. So I shall be growing a few autumn this year and the rest will be spring planted. Hopefully with more success next year !!
Hilary

[Monika]

I planted most of our garlic (Solent Wight/White) last October and kept just a few for this spring. Now that they are ready for harvesting I realise there is no difference at all in their size, in fact, this year's harvest is enormous, some heads almost tennis ball size! They were planted fairly deep , in well manured ground and given a good dose of onion fertiliser twice this spring.

[FelixLeiter]

For anyone who's anxious about the origins of their garlic, it's safe to plant anything that comes to hand. Garlic does not, unlike, say potatoes, accumulate diseases from one year to the next, so you can keep stock going year on year. I do urge for garlic of good provenance, though, to be planted. For instance, it's reasonable to expect a variety that has done well for many years in a garden in British gardens is bound to succeed better than stock which has adapted to conditions in southern Europe. If you want a recommendation, I have always found Cristo to be the most consistently reliable.

[Mike Vogel]

Lots of interesting observations here. My own thoughts are:

1. If you have ended up with a small round bulb undivided, replant it and you may well end up next year with what you hoped for this year.

2. The problem with using shop-bought garlic rather than commercially supplied stock is that the ones from the shop are often [almost always actually] imported from countries such as Spain, where the climate is different. Performance in Britain of a clone accustomed to Mediterranean conditions can lead to poor results or even susceptibility to fungal infections. This perhaps explains What nannygreen found - that saved seed did best.

3. Spring planting doesn't usually work as well as autumn planting, because a decent frost aids division. I suspect this is primarily because the subsequen t thaw kick-starts the process. Those varieties which are said to be good for spring planting did poorly for me.

4. I've been delighted with the performance of my garlic from TheGarlicFarm IOW and can certainly recommend it. If you order from them, don't forget the Elephant garlic, which I have found to have a strong and special flavour.

5. Thank you, Felix, for your solution to the bulbs' opening. Some of mine did this this year. Doesn't affect the flavour, though.