Topic: Is seed-garlic a monopoly?

[Tee Gee]

I usually do the same as Antipodes.... that is I buy the biggest bulbs I can find in the supermarket which is usually about 20% of the cost of seed merchant's stock.

Usually I get a good harvest and I save the biggest bulbs for the following year.

I grow them like this for a four or five years or as long as they keep producing large healthy bulbs.


If the bulbs begin to produce a poor crop I start again with fresh stock.


Two years ago I bought some expensive bulbs from Robinson's seeds which all had "Wight" in their name.

To be quite honest I haven't noticed any difference in quality of these against the culinary bulbs I have bought from any of the supermarkets.

I usually grow a Hard neck and a Soft neck variety plus some Elefant garlic which in truth is not a true Garlic!

[Digeroo]

What is the advantage of seed garlic.  It is very expensive.

Waitrose have Duchy which is supposed to be grown in the uk

[squeezyjohn]

People have a good point about growing from "culinary" garlic ... I didn't realise so many people did this!

My doubts would be if the plant was a variety grown in a much hotter climate that it wouldn't be suitable for growing here ... and there is always a chance that it's been sprayed with a growth inhibitor to stop it sprouting or irradiated/heat treated.  However it seems most people who've tried this have had success and I might well give it a go ... you can get some really nice types of garlic for less than the price of seed garlic if you steer clear of the supermarkets.

[Paulh]

The big issue is white rot. I have it on my plot and I don't want to replant cloves because (rightly or wrongly) I think it will have a head start on them.

[squeezyjohn]

I think white rot is more to do with the soil than it is the bulbs ... if you try to store a bulb with even a touch of white rot on it it simply will rot in storage.

[ACE]

Mine was a bit rubbish this year so I think I will buy some organic from the greengrocer and plant that. My cloves are a bit small to risk replanting this year.

[squeezyjohn]

Well I've just taken delivery of some heads of seed garlic (porcelain hardneck variety called Doocot)  from the Really Garlicky Company for 90p each and they're grown in Scotland and are supposed to be tolerant of cold and wet weather ... even though they say there's approximately 5 cloves per head there's actually more like 8 and they're really nice big ones. The heads that the garlic farm sell come to about £3 each!! Nuff said.

[ancellsfarmer]

Its my experience that grocers garlic is either Chinese ,from Pakistan or British . The British is likely to be fresher and used to our climate.It is said that concerns of introducing contagion can be allayed by placing the split cloves in vinegar for 15 minutes prior to planting. However the greater risk is from contaminated soil in the plot.

[rowbow]

Hi found this site, http://www.southwestgarlicfarm.co.uk/elephant-garlic.html, an email to them could give a bit more information on supplies.

John 

[ancellsfarmer]

Hi found this site, http://www.southwestgarlicfarm.co.uk/elephant-garlic.html, an email to them could give a bit more information on supplies.

John 

and
https://www.newcoventgardenmarket.com/blog/grower-profile-south-west-garlic-farm

[brownthumb2]

Some of my garlic flowered /formed  little bulblets   I haven't planted those yet  But was planning to in the new year in pots in the green house   Do you think should I wait till then or plant up now? i haven't bothered with them before  . I always save the largest cloves from home grown stock and haven't had any issues 

[galina]

Some of my garlic flowered /formed  little bulblets   I haven't planted those yet  But was planning to in the new year in pots in the green house   Do you think should I wait till then or plant up now? i haven't bothered with them before  . I always save the largest cloves from home grown stock and haven't had any issues 

You can use these bulbils for growing, but unless they are the large type (large pea size to small cherry size), they will need two years to produce a fully formed bulb.  After one year you get an undivided bulb (nice to eat all the same, just does not divide into cloves).  Bulbil size varies tremendously, from smaller than a grain of rice to larger than a peanut.  I have had success with large bulbils, especially planted early in autum (early October).  Small bulbils are more at risk and thrive better in a pot until they have developed into a plant.  Possibly best in a greenhouse over winter or in a conservatory, or 'sown' in spring and then transplanted into the garden that autumn to produce a large divided garlic the following year. 

[brownthumb2]

 Thanks for the tips Galina  they average out about the size of a lemon pip  But I will have a go and pot them up,  nothing ventured nothing gained

[galina]

Thanks for the tips Galina  they average out about the size of a lemon pip  But I will have a go and pot them up,  nothing ventured nothing gained

Lemon pip size are easy to plant in a pot, but almost certainly will take two years to grow into a fully divided clove.  Good luck 

[Robert_Brenchley]

There's a very long thread here about getting garlic to produce true seed.

http://alanbishop.proboards.com/thread/5471/true-garlic-seed?page=1