Topic: Elephant garlic

[Mrs Ava]

I planted 6 cloves of elephant garlic back in the autumn, you know, the gigantic ones, and they grew well, and like all my other garlics, were as rusty as could be, so today I dug up the lot and they are HUGE.  My question is this, around the base of the biggest bulb there are extra little weeny bulbs, bulbs that do not look like garlic cloves, almost like lily bulbels if you know what I mean and they are growing more from the roots rather than attached to the main parent garlic bulb.  ???  What are these?  Can I plant them and they will grow more garlic plants?  Fanks chaps!  ;D

[adamhill100]

Sorry Emma!  Dont have an answer.. But was wondering when you know when to pull up your Garlic.?

[Mrs Ava]

I went and looked back at the Garlic Farms website to see what they said.  My earlies could be dug from May, the rest in June and July, but to be honest, I dug them all because we have white rot on the plot and some were begining to be affected, plus they were soooooooooooo covered in rust that they were begining to flop, so I dug a couple up to see, and they were all good sizes, so I cleared all those that had flopped or were looking a little sickly.  I still have about a dozen in, which I shall keep an eye on.  These were garlics planted last October November time.

[john_miller]

I'm picturing something like Gladiolus bulbils, EJ? Wherever they are growing, so long as they are from the elephant garlic, then they will have the genetics to eventually make elephant garlic. During the first year they may not make a useable bulb but at some point they will, assuming the white rot doesn't get them first.

[Mrs Ava]

Okay then John, that is what they are like.  I think I shall keep them safe - so will not put them in my shed - and then plant them in pots in October time when I plant my regular garlic out.  Keep them outside to do the growing business, then next year, when I harvest my garlics, also turn them out and dry them and plant them on the plot in October time - gotta be worth a go, after all, got nothing to loose....but of course, I will forget, or loose them or they will just up and die on me.  Oh, what an optomist Emma!

[carloso]

Hi Em

Dont keep em as they dont keep i think i read right

Harvesting: Badly infected bulbs will not store. They continue to decay, and will contaminate clean crops. Onions whose roots alone have been damaged may store, and although they will be small, they will keep well.


http://www.hdra.org.uk/factsheets/dc16.htm

well it might help i now name this Camel Garlic as its given me the hump !!!

carl  :-\

[legless]

i was going to ask exactly that question! i've only lifted one of mine to test if they were ready, so big!!! tried some raw, quite strong though so i don't reckon i'll be eating it raw in sandwiches as suggested in teh seed catalogue!!