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

**sanderson** 9/26/2013, 2:15 pm

LM and Camp, Thanks for your replies. The September garlic is poking through the MM and 1" layer of wood chips, and the Russian Red will be planted in October. I take it that garlic is cold hardy and can survive a few nights below 32*.

The soil definitely does not heave in this zone! We only get a few nights below 32*, maybe a light crusty crunch to the ground in the early morning until the sun is up. Kids stomp on frozen puddles of ice on the way to school. At the most, we throw old towels over the outdoor pipes when there is a freeze warning!! The citrus farmers crank up the windmills and smudge pots to keep the air circulating and warmer during these spells.

Goosegirl 9/27/2013, 8:06 pm

sanderson wrote:The soil definitely does not heave in this zone!

I hear ya on that one! I had never heard of a frost heave until I moved from CA to SD!

GG

(Sorry for hijacking)

Rambo 9/27/2013, 10:11 pm

Geez my garlic just sprouted out of the MM, only planted it on the 26th.

Funny story, I carried the clove in my pants leg pocket for a whole day forgot it was there, wonder if the warmth helped with the germination? It was also an all time record temp day for Sept in Qld.

Mary Mary quite contrary, how does your garlic grow? - Page 16 Image

Mary Mary quite contrary, how does your garlic grow? - Page 16 Image

**sanderson** 9/28/2013, 1:04 am

Good photo of your first garlic to sprout!

iiiigardener 10/2/2013, 2:50 pm

I'll be getting ready to plant my second year of both garlic and shallots. I think I've read on the forum that garlic should be planted in the same bed, year after year, so it gets used to the planting bed. Does anyone know if that is true for shallots, too? Or maybe I am mis-remembering and need to plant the garlic in a new bed this year?

My garlic and shallots were both prolific last year but the size was very small.

plantoid 10/2/2013, 4:56 pm

Not quite how you have put it .. much more to do with garlic and onions don't get sick in their own same bed year after year unless of course you get a major fungal attack because of things getting too wet for too long.

Several months ago on TV I saw a programme about French small holders & their garlic garden areas .
One by a castle wall has written records showing that it has had garlic growing in the same 100 yards x 60 yards area for over 100 years .

**llama momma** 10/3/2013, 6:04 am

If the garlic remains healthy then leave it alone in it's happy place. Razz

CapeCoddess 10/3/2013, 1:04 pm

I just called our local Agway for garlic and they are actually stocking bulbs. It's called California softneck. The reviews look fantastic, especially for the short season we have. But they look like grocery store garlic which I can get for a lot less than $1/bulb.

Has anyone had any experience with California Softneck?
CC

**camprn** 10/3/2013, 6:14 pm

That's what I grow. A good keeper for many months. Even beyond 14 months.

Marc Iverson 10/4/2013, 1:16 am

Somebody had some leftover cloves of Spanish Roja he gave me, but they're tiny. Wonder if I should bother planting the runts of the litter.

**llama momma** 10/4/2013, 6:10 am

Well, you might know that small cloves supposedly grow small bulbs. If you never grew garlic or had Spanish roja then it may be worth the experience of growing your own and taste testing. I say some garlic is better than none. If I had spare garden space I would plant those just to experience the difference from my german red.

**sanderson** 10/4/2013, 1:15 pm

What happens if the papers come off the cloves you plant? Hopefully, it will not affect how they grow!!

plantoid 10/4/2013, 7:55 pm

The bulbs split into cloves giving six or so cloves set of paper skin gone .

Each clove has a thin skin it can come free but it will still grow .

Had to put it that way just in case someone might try and plant a complete bulb without splitting it down into cloves.

**sanderson** 10/4/2013, 8:00 pm

Plantoid, Tbanks. I under stand what you mean.

**Turan** 10/5/2013, 1:13 pm

I plant the runt cloves as well as the big ones. The runts go in a close row on one edge of the garlic patch. I use them in the spring, greens and all. If you thin them as you pull you can grow out the best looking ones and they will give you bigger cloves each year until they are regular size. This is worth it if you are trying to increase your stock.

southern gardener 4/18/2014, 1:49 pm

Found this garlic under that volunteer cauliflower!! Look at the size of the neck!! (I guess that's what it's called?) Can't wait to pull this sucker!!

Mary Mary quite contrary, how does your garlic grow? - Page 16 Garlic10

Mary Mary quite contrary, how does your garlic grow? - Page 16 Garlic10

**AtlantaMarie** 4/18/2014, 1:52 pm

**llama momma** 4/18/2014, 1:54 pm

Wow it looks as thick as a corn stalk Very Happy

**sanderson** 4/18/2014, 2:32 pm

**llama momma** 4/18/2014, 2:41 pm

...the more I look at it....it is corn, right ????

southern gardener 4/18/2014, 3:05 pm

llama momma wrote:...the more I look at it....it is corn, right ????

Nope!!! it's GARLIC!!!! can you believe it????

southern gardener 4/18/2014, 3:59 pm

I couldn't stand it anymore, so I pulled back the wood chips because I wanted to see the color of the bulb. We planted Spanish Pink and another kind. This one seems to be Spanish pink!!

Mary Mary quite contrary, how does your garlic grow? - Page 16 Pinkga10

Mary Mary quite contrary, how does your garlic grow? - Page 16 Pinkga10

Marc Iverson 4/18/2014, 4:06 pm

Very nice. That's as thick as an elephant garlic stem.

southern gardener 4/18/2014, 4:08 pm

Marc Iverson wrote:Very nice. That's as thick as an elephant garlic stem.

thank you

I know it's not Elephant because Elephant is mild and we like STRONG garlic!! mmmmmmmmmm. Can't wait to see it full grown Smile

plantoid 4/18/2014, 4:22 pm

Don't eat it whatever you do , save the bulb for planting as cloves when it's dried off a bit ...
See what comes from the next couple of clove planting sessions .

You might have a real good variety that you can sell the commercial rights for to one of the bigger seed houses .

But do protect your property rights before you approach them as starving sharks are much gentler creatures to deal with.

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