Topic: Non-sprouting garlic

[Uncle_Filthster]

Has anyone experienced garlic not sprouting?
I bought a bulb of Rose de Lautrec last year, planted them in January along with my Elephant garlic and Early purple wight.  The elephant and early purple are both rocketing away but I haven't had a single sprout of rose de Lautrec show yet.  They were really big fat cloves too and had enough of a cold spell.

As Toyah woulf say "it'sth a mysthtery"!

[goodlife]

  They should be up and running by now...
You didn't plant them upside down by any chance?
I would recommend having a 'firkle' and see what is happening or if they still even exist.

[galina]

Was the Rose de Lautrec bought as seed garlic or as eating garlic?  Eating garlic is often treated with sprout inhibitors (and so are potatoes, onions etc).  If they are still there and intact, you could wash them carefully and try and prise the outers open to help sprout.  Then perhaps replant them into pots to see better what is going on.

If they were from a nursery/mail order, report it and get a refund.  Hope you can get some joy from them although it is getting a bit late.   

[Robert_Brenchley]

I planted solo garlic in late winter. I don't know how it's been treated - I don't think it's a variety, just garlic which has been inhibited from splitting - but it was rounds a couple of inches across. None of it has emerged, but when I had a firkle I found that it's still there, with a well developed root system.

[Uncle_Filthster]

I got it from a 'farmers market' it was sold as seed garlic on a stall that grew and sold garlic for growing, and I even got a sheet of growing instructions with it.  There's definitely at least 2 cloves still in the ground as my dad looked last week.  Think I'll have a bit more poke about than he did though and try to see just what is going on. I was expecting these to do really well from the size of the cloves.

[Uncle_Filthster]

After having a prod about and seeing zero growth, not even a hint of roots, it turns out that in every clove the shoot had rotted.  If that market and stall is on again I think I'll be telling them their garlic is cack.  Might see if I can find the info sheet and see if there's any contact info on it.

[goodlife]

 

it turns out that in every clove the shoot had rotted

Oh dear....I wonder what caused that?! Now you need to be careful with that area....
'Few' years ago I decided to try different garlic variety and bought few bulbs from one well known seed company. Previously I've been growing same 'old' garlic from my own saved cloves from yeeeeears and never any issues with it.
Every single glove of this new garlic got hit with white rot and quite early on the development too
Now I'm not suggesting yours would have this issue, certainly the time of the year for white rot occurrence is wrong one..too early for it...but if it is just that one lot that has had growing issues...it is not 'you' ..there is definitely something wrong with the supply.

I know it is late in the season to plant any garlic now....but I would be curious to test the area where those cloves rotted. Plant few cloves in the middle of it and see what happens...if there is any 'contamination' or if the soil will grow healthy plants.

As for my own misfortune with those damned bulbs...I haven't come across white rot anywhere on my plots since that one off and certainly my own stock has been stayed 'clean'..but I have avoided growing any alliums on that particular bed ever since that...I'm hoping that eventually the bed will be clear from the rot. I'm not taking any chances and I think I'll be waiting another 5 years (it was at least 5 years ago when that happened..can't remember exactly anymore) or so before testing the soil with few cloves...looong time to go yet

[galina]

After having a prod about and seeing zero growth, not even a hint of roots, it turns out that in every clove the shoot had rotted.  If that market and stall is on again I think I'll be telling them their garlic is cack.  Might see if I can find the info sheet and see if there's any contact info on it.

It really looks like they palmed treated eating garlic off as planting garlic.  Cheats!  Do let them know and demand your money back and make your feelings known.  If you can find that stall again, it would be interesting what they offer as explanation.

Reading Daughter of the Soil's blog, it is stated that it should not have been sold under the name of Rose de Lautrec in Britain anyway, because its name is one of those regional protected ones, also the variety derives much of its eating qualities from the specific location where it is grown.
http://daughterofthesoil.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/rose-de-lautrec-garlic.html

I think you were done, sadly   

[Robert_Brenchley]

That doesn't sound good. I've planted eating garlic several times, and had consistently good results, but there's always a forst time.

[Uncle_Filthster]

I have elephant garlic and early purple wight growing in the same area, along with onions on the other side of the row that didn't sprout and they're all doing fine.  It's the first time any alliums have been grown in that part of the garden for many years as it wasn't getting used for a while until I started growing squashes and beans there a few years ago.

'tis a strange one as the cloves seemed fantastic