Topic: GRowing Garlic

[boxingtortoise]

Do i need to fertilise before i plant garlic? I'm planning to plant mid-Oct, is that right?

[allotment_chick]

Hi bt
I wouldn't add manure.  I do sprinkle with pelleted chicken manure if the ground hasn't been manured the previous autumn.  Garlic like well cultivated, well drained soil in a sunny spot.  I get the best results (even with some winter losses) when I plant in October (although any time before Christmas will do, Monty Don says, when the soil conditions are appropriate).

Garlic produces bigger bulbs, I'm told, if they have a couple on months of low temperatures and my results do seem to bear this out!

[tim]

may I exercise my newly gained right to post at the hour of my choice by suggesting an answer?

If you want the 'horse's mouth', look up the Garlic Farm in the IOW. They have the history, full instructions and you can buy from them so that the grower gets the profit - rather than seed firms.

In case you're too busy, 3oz general fert before planting in well dug ground. And, strangely, they advocate February - whereas I've come around more and more to October. No matter, we've got the dreaded white rot all over now so my planting days are numbered.  - Tim

[tim]

oops, sorry! Carried away by this new found freedom.  3oz/sq.yd of course. - Tim

[Suze_O]

When you regain what you have lost then you realise the true meaning of freedom.

[Hyacinth]

Thanks for telling me about The Garlic Farm, Tim. I ordered mine this morning - and shallots!!! Delivery is after 25th September. - Lishka

[tim]

you ought to try their smoked garlic - stuff a chuck with it! - Tim

[merv]

Hiya  :)

Sorry to hear about your white rot Tim.  :(  HDRA has a fact sheet http://www.hdra.org.uk/factsheets/dc16.htm and do mention growing leeks and garlic.

I'm sure I read somwhere that the ground can be treated with Amylrox.......erm..erm... :-[  can't spell it , but that chemical that was withdrawn and then re-instated with Jay's fluid.

[tim]

Thanks for that - yes, tell me about it! Been fending it off for years, but chemically treating 400 sq ft each year, at my age, is a bit of a prob. That's 37 canfuls - TWICE! Armillatox, by the way, is back under a new label -  just after I had bought enough to last a lifetime, for greenhouse cleaning etc!! - Tim

[Beer_Belly]

I've just received the garlic sets I ordered 2 days ago and I'm puzzled.
They're mini bulbs, - Do I split them up and plant the cloves separately ?
Peeled / un peeled ?
Do I need to leave the root bit on ?
What spacing is appropriate ?
Sorry for all the questions but it's my first time so be gentle with me.
:-) - BB

[Colin_Bellamy-Wood]

Hiya BB, plant individual cloves (don't unwrap them of skin etc), 2in deep, about 6in apart in a sunny position.    Leave 'em alone except to water them in dry weather.   When the foliage turns yellow, lift and dry the bulbs.   Store in a cool frost-free place, and enjoy them at leisure.  I planted mine in March, put in 30, harvested 30, quite proud of meself  ;D ;D ;D

[Tenuse]

Can I plant garlic that I have bought from a supermarket? I was thinking about using some organic garlic bulbs - as none of the garden centres near me have any bulbs available. Is there any reason why these might not work?

Tenuse x

[merv]

Hiya   Tenuse :)

Yuppers you can sow Store bought garlic (even supermarket).  Better is the rough looking stuff you get @ the green grocer.  I really am a bit fed up with buying expensive seed garlic as I don't think it's worth the money.  For a squid I can buy 4 store bulbs giving me 30-40 cloves.  Much better value.

[tim]

May I add a few thoughts - based on the experience of the IOW growers?

1. Yes, you can grow s/market garlic but

[tim]

this is crazy - pressed the space bar and......................!!
As I was saying;
 a. It's not certified seed.
 b. It's often quite small stuff.
 c. It's not acclimatised to the UK.
 d. It's been kept in cold store and can burst into life as soon as it is brought into the warm.

2. 'They' recommend storing in a reasonably warm place. We hang ours in the kitchen.
3. DO give 3oz/sqyd gen fert before planting and DO give 2oz/sqyd Sulphate of Potash in early Feb.
4. Water well but not within 3 weeks of harvest.
5. DON'T wait till all the foliage dies down before harvesting. If you want pristine white bulbs, lift when 10% has gone over, and so avoid the murky showers of late July- August.
6. Hanging in ropes or plaits gives better storage than 'tidying them up'.
7. 6" spacing, yes, for the big cloves - 4" for the ones in the centre, if you are short of room.
8. Oh, and follow instructions as to when to plant - for instance, Solent Wight is best in early February, although with other strains that don't keep as long, autumn seems to be increasingly popular.
9. Keep weed free.
10. Don't over-dry after harvest - as I tend to!

Hope that's of general help?? - Tim

[Mrs Ava]

Received my first batch this morning....forgot I had ordered it  :-/ and have ordered more from the Garlic Farm  :P  Hey ho, you can never have too much garlic I guess.....at least I won't have a vampire problem  ;D.  The label says plant between now and November, so I hope to get it in next week, weather permitting!  I love my lottie!

[Tenuse]

Tim thanks for the info, I now know everything about garlic and more!!!

Tenuse x