Re: Mary Mary quite contrary, how does your garlic grow?

**camprn** 3/3/2013, 6:37 pm

Turan wrote:... I did not know the difference between hard neck and soft neck garlic. So I was planting soft neck in the fall and it promptly froze to mush so I replanted in the spring as early as I could get the cloves into the ground.

All my soft neck garlic winters over quite well in zone 5a. I only mention this in regard to any newbees thinking you cannot successfully plant softneck garlic in the fall and have a harvest the next year.

cpl100 3/11/2013, 4:07 pm

subsonic wrote:garlic is one of my secret weapons against a lot of garden pest. I plant it all around the place because a lot of bugs will not go near it.
Never have had an aphid since I figured it out.

Can I plant it near my lilies to keep those red bugs away? Thanks!

**camprn** 3/11/2013, 8:26 pm

cpl100 wrote:
subsonic wrote:garlic is one of my secret weapons against a lot of garden pest. I plant it all around the place because a lot of bugs will not go near it.
Never have had an aphid since I figured it out.

Can I plant it near my lilies to keep those red bugs away? Thanks!

I think only a garlic spray will deter the red Asiatic lily beetle. They are the bane of my flower gardening existence.

cpl100 3/11/2013, 9:52 pm

Yes, red beetles on Asiatic Lilies. UGH!

Well, a gardening friend told me what to buy (some organic chemical) to use on them which I did and which does kill them. Can't recall what it is and I may be wrong about it being organic. They are nowhere near my 'food' so no worries about contaminating it.

Wish there was a way to deter them from visiting before they actually do!

Thanks.

**jimmy cee** 3/12/2013, 8:02 am

My garlic bed in March 2013..planted in mid October
Not Mels Mix..yet.....just plain ol dirt
Just removed straw, sprinkled mushroom manure today,,
Mary Mary quite contrary, how does your garlic grow? - Page 7 March_12

Mary Mary quite contrary, how does your garlic grow? - Page 7 March_12

cpl100 3/12/2013, 10:08 am

Did you have straw over it during the winter? I can't decide weather I should remove the straw yet.

**jimmy cee** 3/12/2013, 10:34 am

Yes, straw was covering garlic since about Nov. we had a very nice fall.
I removed it this week, it was getting rather ickey...garlic can take cold so I'm not concerned about freezing any more

Nonna.PapaVino 3/12/2013, 11:32 am

JimmyCee, you bring up a valuable reminder: side dressing your garlic with compost at least once during the spring, after it's up and looking good. Here in Western Oregon, I use a mixture of bone meal and kelp meal and some homemade compost to side dress my plants in third week of March, and again at end of May/early June, using just a heaping tablespoon for each plant. Nonna

cpl100 3/12/2013, 7:32 pm

I removed the straw from the 6 squares of garlic. Nothing is sprouting underneath thus far but the top two inches of soil are no longer frozen. I sprinkled some worm casting fertilizer on those squares as...er.... my compost bin did not decompose my compost apparently. The volume went from full to half but when I open the bin door at the bottom this stuff is not 'soil' yet. No idea where it went as there's a bottom on the container but it is what it is.

Dunkinjean 3/12/2013, 7:52 pm

Here is my garlic from planting in Oct 2012.
The box on the right is Chinese Pink Garlic.
The box in the back is Late Italian Garlic.
Mary Mary quite contrary, how does your garlic grow? - Page 7 2013_g15

Mary Mary quite contrary, how does your garlic grow? - Page 7 2013_g15

**jimmy cee** 3/12/2013, 11:25 pm

Dunkinjean
I can almost taste our garlic as its growing
Yours looks great, watch it take off as the sun comes around

cpl100 3/13/2013, 3:43 pm

My garlic hasn't come through the soil yet. I hope I didn't put too much straw on it, plant it wrong or leave the straw on top for too long.

**llama momma** 3/13/2013, 3:51 pm

I got the opposite issue, planted too early in mid(ish) September and have watched the green leaves poke at times through snow and the bed of leaves all winter long.. including today's snow. Mine are taller than dunkinjeans and jimmycee's above. If mine are this tough above ground, I would bet yours are probably fine and nicely protected under ground. Or, maybe we're both in trouble!

CapeCoddess 3/13/2013, 4:08 pm

llama momma wrote:have watched the green leaves poke at times through snow and the bed of leaves all winter long.

Yup, me too. I planted these on Halloween: Mary Mary quite contrary, how does your garlic grow? - Page 7 Mar_1310

Also, all winter long, whenever one of my kitchen garlics sprouted, I ran out and shoved it in the MM around the edge of this box: Mary Mary quite contrary, how does your garlic grow? - Page 7 Mar_1311

Mary Mary quite contrary, how does your garlic grow? - Page 7 Mar_1311

And when I couldn't get outside to plant the latest sprouted kitchen garlic, I stuck the clove into the closest houseplant and THOSE have sprouted and are growing now. Shocked

What's it all about, Alfie?

CC

cpl100 3/13/2013, 5:04 pm

Geeze! I also planted on Halloween as instructed by a local farmer who grows and sells garlic at our farmers market.

I hate being left behind.....

**camprn** 3/13/2013, 5:17 pm

I planted at Halloween as well and there's nary a sprout to be seen yet. cpl you are not far behind at all! Very Happy

**llama momma** 3/13/2013, 5:28 pm

Since mine were planted Sept 15, I'm thinking they need an early side dressing instead of waiting for month's end. As in tomorrow. Sound good - anyone?

meatburner 3/13/2013, 6:13 pm

Planted these soft necks on October 15 and now they are greening up a little. I will keep the mulch on as the weather around here can really be up and down. Love fresh garlic.
Mary Mary quite contrary, how does your garlic grow? - Page 7 Early_10

Mary Mary quite contrary, how does your garlic grow? - Page 7 Early_10

cpl100 3/13/2013, 6:35 pm

Oh my heavens! Is that the way I was supposed to put straw on it? Mine was much, much thicker than that! affraid

**camprn** 3/13/2013, 6:43 pm

cpl100 wrote:Oh my heavens! Is that the way I was supposed to put straw on it? Mine was much, much thicker than that!

you did right cpl, we are quite a bit farther north than Missouri. But no worries now, you have taken it off and sunny

Spring is on the way.

cpl100 3/13/2013, 9:03 pm

Yeah!!! I finally did something right in the garden!

meatburner 3/13/2013, 11:02 pm

cpl100 wrote:Yeah!!! I finally did something right in the garden!

yes you did. I don't have the cold low temps you do so I can get by with much less mulch. I so much enjoy how everyone has to do thing a little different and they all work. Life is good!

CapeCoddess 3/14/2013, 10:01 am

Other than compost and a few leaves that fell on them, I didn't mulch mine at all. They're probably dead under there. Sad

CC

GWN 3/14/2013, 10:31 am

I have never mulched garlic and have read where in moist areas, mulch can create too much moisture.
I have always done well with my garlic though, despite not mulching.

CapeCoddess 3/14/2013, 10:36 am

Excellent! Thanks, Janet!

CC

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