Garlic

[smudger]

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Hello everyone,could someone plse. offer advice?
My Autumn sown garlic is now running to seed.I assume that as with onions and leeks this is not a good sign.
Should I
1.  Cut my losses and lift them?
2.  Leave well alone and hope that there may be some usable bulbs.
3.  would it serve any purpose to cut out the stem which will eventually support the seed head?

Many thanks. Smudger

[smudger]

[Merry Tiller]

I'd cut flower stems off now and lift the bulbs in 2 or 3 weeks time, it's a little early but mine are starting to swell already too

[terrace max]

Having removed the flower stalks last week, I chopped them up like chives and used them as an ingredient in a pasta sauce.

No vampires in Yorkshire that night.

[Merry Tiller]

good idea

[MarthaMad]

I chopen mine an sauteed in butter, then added to my mash.....  Voila Garlic shoot champ.

[redimp]

Does it do any harm to remove one or two leaves from a plant to have a go at this - never had garlic leaves or shoots and they sound good.

[terrace max]

Probably not worth jeopardising bigger cloves.

In my case, eating the flower stems was an example of necessity being the mother of invention. In this mother of a season (weather-wise) I've got to eat anything I can find...!

[tim]

Many garlics are not ripe till July - August. So do wait till the tops start to wilt - some say when 3 leaves go yellow.

[philcooper]

Smudger,

It depends on the variety, softneck varieties (the normal ones) shouldn't flower, hard neck are expected to flower.  Removing the flower of softnecks should help.
Then give em a foliar feed just to show that you really love them despite having cut their heads of and removed the chance of their having any children!

Phil

[tim]

 - adding a drop of detergent to the feed?

[redimp]

Smudger,

It depends on the variety, softneck varieties (the normal ones) shouldn't flower, hard neck are expected to flower.  Removing the flower of softnecks should help.
Then give em a foliar feed just to show that you really love them despite having cut their heads of and removed the chance of their having any children!

Phil

OK, more confused - if my hardnecks flower (as expected) - should I leave the flower or remove it?

[Merry Tiller]

Then give em a foliar feed just to show that you really love them despite having cut their heads of and removed the chance of their having any children!

It's not actually their heads is it? Doesn't bear thinking about really :'(

[Garden Manager]

What i want to know is, is it OK to start lifting a few plants around now?

I planted mine last october and most are looking big and healthy (at least the foliage is). Trouble is i now want some of the space the garlic is growing in for a summer crop (a courgette plant).

I was given to understand that you could lift before the leaves died down, this being known as 'wet' garlic.

Can anyone advise please?

[Mrs Ava]

Richard, go look in the gallery.  I lifted a couple to see yesterday and they are certainly useable, and one was a very good size.

[Garden Manager]

Richard, go look in the gallery.  I lifted a couple to see yesterday and they are certainly useable, and one was a very good size.

Thanks EJ. Will do.

[tim]

Richard - thanks for one thing - I've been stupidly calling 'wet' garlic 'green'.

Hope eveyone guessed what I meant.

Thought that this deserved 10/10 for trying - 30" long, just forming cloves & a flower head. In the concrete path!!

[Robert_Brenchley]

I hope you didn't need to break the path up with a pnematic drill just to get it out!

[Pegmumm]

I'd dehead them and dig the soil away to expose the top of the bub so they bulb up.  It's sunlight on the bulb that triggers large bulbs. You then bend down the stalks too. The larger the tops, the larger the bulb. Then dig them when the plant gets good and dry. Lay them out in a dry, cool area to dry out. Clip the tops and bag them up, if I remember correctly.
peg

[Robert_Brenchley]

My tops are pathetic little things, they always are. Maybe I need to try a different variety; what do the reest of you grow?

[aquilegia]

d**n - wish I'd known before you could eat the flowerheads. Deheaded one of mine that was just starting to flower at the weekend, but shoved it on the compost.