Kitchen Garden Forum

I lifted my Elephant garlic at the weekend and it looks really great, but around the base of the main bulb are tiny little 'clovlets' that are attached to the bulb only by the root.

Would these tiny cloves grow to be new Elephant garlic or am I better to use a proper clove from the bulb as was sent last year when I ordered them?

Many thanks,

You can use these to propagate from. They will grow into single-cloved bulbs. Elephant Garlic is most closely related to leeks than to true garlic.

Felix beat me to it, but i thought i would say hello anyway.

Thanks Felix, I am not sure I can quite envision what you say - if it would be rather like a large spring onion in form, then I guess I probably am better off using the proper clove like before? Or may be I should give it a go as well and see if I like what happens!

Hi OH, I hope you enjoyed your holiday? I have found that with an actual crop to look after this year I haven't had so much time for my 'virtual' gardening this summer as I anticipated, but still pop in when I can to see what is occuring

Dear Elle, indeed, i did enjoy my holiday very much.

Elle, I'm sorry; I must have missed this one when it first appeared.

The little clovelets can be put back into the soil straightaway. But mark carefully and pretty permanently where you put them, because you won't see any growth from them ffor ages and ages. But things will happen and I'm told that after a year each clovelet will have formed itself into a small round bulb the size of a marble, in my experience. Leave them alone. The next year you will see growth in the normal way and if you are lucky you will get a bulb of Elephant Garlic. Otherwise it will be a rather bigger marble and you will get what you are hoping for the third year.

Good luck.

mike

Thanks for the reply Mike, I will give it a go in a quiet corner somewhere