Kitchen Garden Forum

Hi There

I had a good crop of Solent white garlic last year, so thought I'd sow some of the harvest I have left instead of buying new ones ...
However, is it best that I plant the largest cloves out of the bulbs & leave the smaller for eating ?? Or does the size of the clove / bulb not relate to the size of the crop?

Some of the outer cloves are an ok size, but some are quite a bit smaller than those I planted last winter ...

Many thanks for your help
Skip

You will get better results if you plant the bigger cloves and eat the smaller ones. The resulting bulbs will be bigger

Dear Skip,
the bigger the cloves you plant the better the resulting bulbs. The only downside with this method is lots of tiddlers in the kitchen does not the cook a happy bunny make. So combine the planting with a batch of pesto making and freeze the result.
Regards Sally Wright.
ps for freezing use about 1/2 the recommended quantity of oil as this will freeze better.

Many thanks for your help both of you - so I will start seperating the bulbs.

I'm also the cook so no worries there ... only myself to offend. I like the idea of pesto making though, so might give that a go.

Thanks again
Skip

Hi skip,

If you don't want to use the really miniscule cloves in the kitchen, plant them in a row fairly close together, and you will get a super crop of "garlic spring onions" which are great for stir-fries, etc. They also make a good edging round cabbage and carrot/parsnip beds to confuse pests by masking the scent of the plants.
Regards, Lyn