Topic: Anyone else growing Marco garlic?

[chriscross1966]

I ask as I put in four varieties plus elephant back in the autumn, all at the same time, all in the same bed.... the Thermidrome, Germidour and Lautrec Wight are all up, the elephant is starting to show, but no sign of the Marco yet...  Anyone else growing/grown this have any experience?

chrisc

[caroline7758]

I think I have Marco. None of mine are up yet. :(

[grawrc]

I planted early purple wight, chesnok wight and provence wight in October. WhenI last looked the early purple and provence were up and away but no sign whatever of chesnok. I still have some to plant as well as shallots.

[chriscross1966]

Don't worry caroline, if that's two of us with complete no-shows then I reckon that's cos it's a late shower rather than we've both lost the lot in otherwise perfectly good garlic ground..... I'm putting that down as good news.... indeed a complete varietal no-show alongside others that are all up and running tends to indicate that it's a late shower rather than it's failed....

chrisc

[gazza1960]

Have grown and planted Marco late season the last 2 years,1st we had a brilliant return of large bulbs,this last season was a disaster just lots of small wet bulb heads due to the cruddy weather.
Have not planted any this past autumn as im going to plant them in the spring instead for a change.
Anyway,enjoy cooking with them as they are medium strength so lets see what this season brings weather wise.!!!!!!!

Gazza

[Deb P]

I have always planted my Marco garlic in October and have had great results, a bit smaller crop last year but still ok. This year I am well behind my usual schedule due to both the wet weather which left one plot completely sodden and the sudden death of my dad which meant I just haven't wanted to go to the lottie as much as I used to.  I will be putting mine in at the same time as my early potatoes at this rate!

[BarriedaleNick]

I always grow some Marco and usually they are quick and quite early - I often get commments about them.  However this year they have been very slow - I may have been a little alter but they seem to be much slower this year.

[green lily]

Well.. I've 3 sorts of garlic growing but I haven't a clue which sorts. First from Lidl said from Spain on one side of the label and Italy on the other.. So I put that in the poly. About 6ins. tall now.
The big purple French garlic came from a farmers market stall and that is showing nicely outdoors...
My Latvian wonder woman brought me a bulb from Latvia. That went in late [I didn't know it was coming] and isn't showing yet.. so I wait and see whether these 'cheepo' versions do as well as the named ones I've grown before. Wait and see. [The shallots from Wilko aren't moving yet either.] See whether they're showing when I get back from my hols.

[BAK]

We bought some Taylor's Marco garlic bulbs. We planted them in late Oct. One of the bulbs was somewhat mouldy when we split it open and so was discarded. The replacement (not Marco) was planted a week later.

Only one or two of the Marco are up whereas the non Marco are all up. When I had a little look at the end of one of the Marco rows a few weeks back I found a rotted bulb and one that was only just pushing out the first roots.

I am not confident that the Marco is going to come to anything although we will wait a little while before replanting.

We have grown Marco before without trouble.

[Toshofthe Wuffingas]

The early purple, Carcasonne and Provencal Wights showed from an early planting but when I last looked the elephant hadn't showed. I haven't tried Marco yet but it's on my list to try (if I ever get through the hundredweight of garlic that might come up from the scale of my planting!) But I did plant my garlics quite deep going on the opinions expressed by Joy Larkcom in her books. My soil is reasonably light however. The tiniest cloves I planted in a row like spring onions.

[irridium]

Well.. I've 3 sorts of garlic growing but I haven't a clue which sorts. First from Lidl said from Spain on one side of the label and Italy on the other.. So I put that in the poly. About 6ins. tall now

I bought a lil' basket from Lidl this week (39p!) of the single bulb (single clove??) ones. They're slightly purply-skinned and I chosen the fattest ones I could find. I just hope these will grow big enough for a decent crop in summer. If not, then they'll be grown on for next year instead..

Chris: I grew Marco last season (amongst Thermidrome, Christo, Music and Printador - latter was planted in mid- Dec). Looking back from my diary, it showed that Marco came up first after just a month of planting (by 9/1/12 were 4" tall).By I do know that they need at least 2mths worth of really cold weather for them to grow properly (clove division or whatever the correct term is!) so maybe you haven't had enough cold weather down your end, Chris? It has been mild this winter compared to last.

[chriscross1966]

Well file that under "Phew"... I was having a poke around doing a bit of tidying up and lo and behold, the Marco is starting to show... looks like all of it too.... so that's all my garlic doing OK... If nothing else, with the weather we've been having it ought to be properly stratified...

[Number Six]

To update an old thread, I planted 2 varieties of garlic in a raised bed this year; Marco and Iberian Wight. The Iberian plants are a good size and look healthy so far, but the Marco plants are small and pencil-thin. In fact, one row has just keeled over, probably helped by the relatively strong wind. Is it worth carrying on, or should I pull them and use the valuable space for something like spring onions? Anyone else having similar experiences?

[Deb P]

I was late planting mine out this year but they are all doing ok do far!

[goodlife]

I would not give up with them as yet..
If the 'pencil thin ones' are still fully green...you could give them nitrogen feed..something like chicken pellets and good drench of water to flush the feed 'in' and near to roots. There is chance that you are able to 'bulk them up' before they start properly bulbing up and maturing.
My garlic was slow to pick up this year too...but bit of 'fattening up' has brought mine up to good looking plants.
Garlic is till garlic even if the size is on the small size..and once the tops start dying down and you lift the bulbs..there I still enough growing season left to grow other things on that bed.

[Number Six]

Many thanks for the excellent advice Goodlife. I'll stick with it for now and try a nitrogen feed. Fingers crossed!