Topic: Why is my garlic rotten?

[George the Pigman]

I dug up my first garlic of the season today. The stems had died down and were fine all the year round but when I dug it up the fully formed bulbs were soft and rotting. I was able to remove some of the rotten outer layers but whilst they looked OK the inner bulbs were soft and probably won't last long. Has anyone any idea what might be the cause? We had dry weather all summer so it can't be excess moisture in the soil.

[pumkinlover]

I Any sign of white rot?   
You can freeze the cloves just peel the healthy ones. I did that last year with dodgy ones.

[George the Pigman]

No signs of any fluffy white stuff that might mean white rot. Thanks for the tip about freezing them- good idea!

[galina]

I dug up my first garlic of the season today. The stems had died down and were fine all the year round but when I dug it up the fully formed bulbs were soft and rotting. I was able to remove some of the rotten outer layers but whilst they looked OK the inner bulbs were soft and probably won't last long. Has anyone any idea what might be the cause? We had dry weather all summer so it can't be excess moisture in the soil.

Maybe dig it up a little earlier, before the protective wrappers start to disintegrate.  July is better for digging garlic than late August. 

Hope they will keep somewhat.  If you have any more garlic growing, get it out quickly.

[artichoke]

Yes, my garlic was perfect when I dug up a few in July, then very disappointing only a few weeks later......

However I had to dig them very early last year because they really did get white rot. I scrubbed and dried them thoroughly, and to my surprise they survived until this year's crop were ready, and although tiny and fiddly they stayed dry and firm and tasted fine.