Topic: When to plant garlic?

[peterwaters]

Hi all,

Does anyone know when I can plant garlic? I saw Joe plant his on Garderners World.

Thanks

[Trevor_D]

Last October.

You can plant it now - all the books will tell you that - but they need a cold spell first or they won't always split into cloves but just grow bigger, like onion sets.

Joe wasn't planting; he was transplanting. Anyway, he's a TV presenter....

[peterwaters]

Thanks :)

Do you think I could buy some from the super market, put them in the fridge for about 2 weeks and then plant them?

peter

[caroline7758]

Joe did plant some of his own in modules as well as transplanting. I would have thought it was a bit late, but it's so cold maybe not!

[peterwaters]

Thanks, I'll give it a try and chance it.  :)

[tim]

Even if you don't get bulbs, you should get green garlic which is delicious!

[saddad]

The fridge might work... you can trick many seeds into thinking they have had winter that way... personally I'd slam them in straight away...
 :)

[peterwaters]

Thanks for the replies,

I'll put them in straight away. :)

[tim]

For all our sakes, let us know what happens?

[peterwaters]

Will do! :)

[Curryandchips]

Even if you don't get bulbs, you should get green garlic which is delicious!

Ever felt a numpty? I threw what must have been over 100 tiny garlic cloves onto the compost pile after planting up my rows last autumn. A lot of them had thrown roots, and looked very weak, and they were excess to my requirements. Now I realise I should have just bunged them in anywhere (always loads of space over winter anyway) and harvested green garlic to my heart's content ! I will remember this for this autumn ...

[trinity]

 ??? SORRY FOR NOT SOUNDING TO BRIGHT BUT WHAT IS GREEN GARLIC?

[PurpleHeather]

I kept sowing mine at this time of year. I thought they went in at the same time as onions what I got was perfectly formed miniature bulbs  ready for picking in July as all the tops had died.

Then I saw a TV programme all about garlic growing in the UK. I found out where I had been going wrong.

This time I put them in, in November and they are already larger than last years although they have not gone into bulbs properly yet.

Garlic from the greengrocers are grown abroad and do tend to give smaller bulbs when grown here in the UK.

I paid £1.50 for a pack of three bulbs meant for growing here in the UK and have got 48 cloves growing into new bulbs from them.  I think that will do me for the year.

There is a nursery on the isle of wight who specialise in all sorts of garlic they do an Elephant garlic which is huge and mild. Check on the pack the country of origin to make sure it is ideal to grow where you are.

Garlic chives are delicious too. Chop them by using scissors and make little snips along a few at a time, great for potato salads instead of spring onions.  They are not quite as hardy as ordinary chives but do often come back the following year. 








 

[Fork]

Generally if you put small cloves of garlic in the ground you will only get small bulbs in return,thats my experience anyway.

I have never grown Elephant garlic(garlic for people who dont like garlic) becuse I like the strong flavour which Elephant garlic does not give.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Green garlic is garlic which is harvested while still growing, like spring onions. It's quite mild, and small cloves are ideal for it. I like strong garlic as well, but I also grow wlephant garlic. I just don't use it the same way; I use a whole bulb rather than a clove or five, sliced up. It's good in stirfies.

[shirlton]

Last year I grew some supermaket garlic and although it was ok they were very small. This year I got some Solent and another Isle of Wight garlic and the difference is very noticeable.

[manicscousers]

we got some from wilkies, they're doing really well  :)

[tim]

Even with the best bulb, I plant about 1/2 (8 or so) for bulbing & the tiddlers (same) at close spacing for green.