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

CapeCoddess 9/14/2012, 4:22 pm

Perfect! Thanks, cpl. Halloween is about first frost for me.

CC

subsonic 9/15/2012, 5:30 am

I harvested 3 weeks ago and am about to replant real soon, I try to have garlic in the ground by the end of September
this years crop is already processed, did that today

Dunkinjean 9/15/2012, 3:40 pm

I only planted for my 1st time last fall Late Italian.
This year I want to plant Late Italian again and also Chinese Pink.
I love garlic but not the hot ones.
I plan on planting some with my roses as a trial.
Of course I still have to order them.......being a procrastinator...which is odd for me... Very Happy

**llama momma** 9/15/2012, 4:50 pm

I just planted 53 cloves of German Red. It is suppose to be rich flavored, spicy so less goes a long way, and great for roasting. Also look forward to dehydrating and making it into a powder. For two people this is going to be an awesome amount if everything grows well, Whew!

**Turan** 9/15/2012, 7:40 pm

I have been growing German Red for several years now. It is goooood stuff and does well here in the north. It is the first garlic that I could plant in the fall and survive the winters here (coincidentally it is the first hard neck I have grown Laughing

)

This year I am also trying some Glazer Purple that a friend grows near here. It is stronger and seems to hold its flavor better when baked. Her cloves are huge, i hope I can grow them that big too.

**llama momma** 9/15/2012, 9:33 pm

Speaking of large bulbs, I could not believe the size of the 5 bulbs that were delivered! So much bigger than the supermarket kind, maybe 3 inches in diameter. I've read that it takes about 2 years to get large bulbs cause the bulbs need to acclimate to the local soil conditions. Wonder if that's true? So now I dream of next summer's roasted garlic and garlic butter...here is a site with 3 ways to use garlic with good explanations and Great Pictures-
http://www.thehungrymouse.com/2010/02/01/roasted-garlic-three-ways/

Nonna.PapaVino 9/15/2012, 10:42 pm

As a long-time garlic grower, Llama Mama, I can claim knowledge that the first year's planting of a variety of garlic is small compared to subsequent years in the same area (not the same plot!). So, yes, I believe it's true, as the garlic gets used to your soil/area, it does better in following years. But, as they say: YMMV. Happy garlic growing/eating/repelling vampires. Nonna

**llama momma** 9/15/2012, 11:05 pm

Thanks Nonna, appreciate your experience. I charted the placement of cloves in my garden notebook so I can replant in different squares next year. sfg smile

Nonna.PapaVino 9/15/2012, 11:25 pm

On garlic growing in different soils, even in different parts of the country: a couple of years ago, a family member, visiting my son in Washington State, was given a head or two of garlic I had grown in Oregon. The guest took it back to Texas and planted the cloves. I heard this fall that, after two years of planting that strain of garlic, he had enough to use and share lavishly with friends. Too bad I don't remember the garlic I'd given my son, 'cause it does well in College Station area of Texas as well as Western Oregon!

**llama momma** 9/15/2012, 11:36 pm

Talk about success and such extreme climate adaptation - wonder what it was grown in too - maybe souped up compost and/or fertilizer.

Nonna.PapaVino 9/15/2012, 11:43 pm

Wish I knew. Our compost-heavy soil is slowly being amended with vermiculite and peat or coir to more classic Mel's Mix (several square beds are pure MM). Two years ago, the garlic was grown in beds created under the old Square Foot Gardening book, which included native soil (red clay with heavy yearly doses of cow compost from the barn, composted leaves and old hay, and an over-wintering straw cover. Have to agree, the new MM sure eliminates most of the weeding chores, I'm here to tell you. Nonna

subsonic 9/16/2012, 12:50 pm

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.

GWN 2/24/2013, 7:01 pm

Just to bring back this thread. I am thrilled that my garlic is up ALREADY.
It is SOOO much earlier than last year, I guess the softness of the MM seems to have had something to do with it.
YAH.. cheers

Dunkinjean 2/24/2013, 8:12 pm

I am also happy to report that my two beds of 2x6 of garlic seem to be thriving through the winter.
I am growing Chinese Pink which should be ready in June.
The other bed is Late Italian which will be ready in July.
Of course I can't wait!! sunny

JackieB999 2/24/2013, 9:11 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.

Good to hear... I need to plant some more. I have 6 cloves in a container of MM and it's doing very well. I read before planting it that garlic likes dry soil, so it might be hard to plant it permanently near other crops that need a lot of water. I've been watering my garlic about every 8-10 days and it's growing steadily. All 6 cloves came up cheers

GWN 2/24/2013, 9:50 pm

I am growing Chinese Pink which should be ready in June.

I also have a few Chinese pink, given to me by Nonna.
I did not know that they were early.

WOW that is even better, I guess why they are already up.

cheyannarach 2/24/2013, 10:52 pm

I won't get my garlic until this fall Rolling Eyes

in the meantime I have some garlic from the store sprouting on my windowsill in the kitchen that I think I am going to experiment with.... Just for fun.

CapeCoddess 3/3/2013, 11:46 am

Turan wrote:I used to plant garlic in the spring and it did fine. I am not sure I get bigger cloves or not planting in the fall, but it is nice to have something done ahead of time. Go ahead and plant them, and see how it goes.
I plant them on grid lines about every 6 inches. Then in the spring I plant leaf lettuce and spinach and radishes in the squares with them. They also interplant with beets and beans well.

I was considering doing this also, but planting one clove at every grid intersection. Glad to know it works. And it will be a natural pest control.

Every time there's a big clove with a little green on it in my kitchen garlic bowl, I pop it into the garden. I can't help it, it's like some kind of weird programming. boogie woogie

At this point I have garlic planted from Halloween on thru the winter up (when the MM wasn't frozen solid) to yesterday.

CC

CindiLou 3/3/2013, 11:53 am

CapeCoddess wrote: I pop it into the garden. I can't help it, it's like some kind of weird programming.

CC

CC, I think the whole gardening way of life is a weird program! rofl

Where else do people talk about poo and food in the same conversation! I like your boogie woogie

CapeCoddess 3/3/2013, 12:03 pm

CindiLou wrote:
CC, I think the whole gardening way of life is a weird program! Where else do people talk about poo and food in the same conversation!

Agreed!

Also, when I couldn't get out to the garden due storms, I stuck some cloves in with my houseplants. Don't know what's going to happen there. Talk about mad scientist... Twisted Evil

CC

GWN 3/3/2013, 12:40 pm

turan that is interesting to know that you can plant them now.
I did not think you could.
I am going to do what CC is doing, and I have a lot that are sprouting, this being this time of year

**Turan** 3/3/2013, 1:29 pm

GWN wrote:turan that is interesting to know that you can plant them now.
I did not think you could.
I am going to do what CC is doing, and I have a lot that are sprouting, this being this time of year

At that time 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. I got plenty of garlic and planted it that way for years. Then I learned of hard neck and switched. So maybe it was the type of soft neck. But anyrate, the garlic greens are good too and immature garlic bulbs are tasty too. So it is all win no matter what.

I like the idea of stuffing bulbs that show a need to be planted in various flower pots in the house here. The purple Glazier garlic is showing signs of needing to be planted or chopped and frozen. The red Bavarian is still fine.

plantoid 3/3/2013, 3:23 pm

I recently recieved nine cloves of garlic from a good friend in a poly bag and promptly bunged them in the fridge @ 3 oC for 14 days to stratify them .

This morning I went to plant them and found each clove had 1/5 " long roots, that will give them a heads start to becoming some large bulbs later in the year if it's not too rainy .

plantoid 3/3/2013, 3:26 pm

CapeCoddess wrote:
CindiLou wrote:
CC, I think the whole gardening way of life is a weird program! Where else do people talk about poo and food in the same conversation!

Agreed!

Also, when I couldn't get out to the garden due storms, I stuck some cloves in with my houseplants. Don't know what's going to happen there. Talk about mad scientist...

CC

CC
If my experience of last year is anything to go by they tend to bolt when set in the beds from out of pots , so at least you'll have plenty of scrapes as well .

I managed to keep some of the bolters minus the scrapes back for some of this years crop .. planted them on the first of March when the soil had thawed enough to do it.

Dunkinjean 3/3/2013, 5:39 pm

It is now March and my garlic that I planted in the fall has overwintered but will not be ready to harvest until May and June. It is wonderful to see something growing green in my boxes after the winter! I am still using garlic from the year before.... Very Happy

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