Can I grow garlic from sprouting bulbs?

[gafferbiter]

Hi I've just started this allotment thing... and wondered if I can put my sprouting old garlic from the kitchen into the ground to grow some fat and juicy bulbs for myself? Any ideas? :-\

[gafferbiter]

[tim]

One can't say 'no', because I doubt if many folk have tried it. But since tha custom is to plant between October & February, one assumes that sooner would not be very fruitful.

You might get some 'green garlic'?

[gafferbiter]

Thanks for the reply. But I must ask what is green garlic!? I've had my shop bought garlic in the ground since April, will that be green too... Maybe I should read more and plant less next year! ??? cheers :)

[annieb]

I was largely raised by my gran, who grew up during the late depression... She couldn't stand to see food go to waste... and so she used to cut her garlic cloves carefully and even root the bottoms of the ones she used for cooking!

I'm not 100% sure how efficient that is.. but she always had a HUGE patch of garlic...

The ones I've planted from 'going soft/sprouting' store bought cloves, I've either left right in the ground overwinter and pulled the next year, or I've used pretty much like chives/shallots, pulled up whilst green and chopped the whole thing and used the greens.. in stir fry or fritters or bahjee or what have you...  The scapes are usable as well (and delicious)...

Annie in Norway

(Scapes are the crazy semi-bulb twisty things that growing garlic sprouts on top sometimes)...

I've read an awful lot about garlic.. and if you go to the garlic/allium forums on gardenweb there's just a wealth of confusing and intimidating information.  I am quite sure you'd need to know and use it if you were growing for commercial production or wanted garden magazine perfect bulbs... but in my case, just sort of casually sticking them in the dirt to grow until I need them for cooking, seems to work pretty well.

[tim]

gaffer - don't know but, given an exceptional year, you might get ripe bulbs from your April planting? Green - I  think annie's answered that - not fully formed & unripe.

annie - to cut through the waffle, try reading the instructions by the grower himself - like the garlic farm.

[gafferbiter]

Thanks everyone for all of your wonderful info!!  ;D I am now looking forward to tasting green garlic and I'm going to test it on the husband to see if he can tell the difference... no problem for him he eats everything.