Growing Garlic

[rutters]

Has anyone tried planting Garlic bought from a supermarket or do I need special 'Growing Garlic?'

cheers

[rutters]

[beachlover]

Over half of my overwintered garlic is Somerfields best and it's looking every bit as good as the stuff from the garden centre so far!

[manicscousers]

we got some cheap in maorrison's so, half of ours is supermarket as well  ;D

[bennettsleg]

Last year's were all anonymous supermarket varieties and they worked out just fine.  This year I've gorne all posh and bought all my garlic from the garden centre and will make comparisons!

[tim]

Depends.  This has been discussed many times before but, two thoughts:

1. Much of the garlic in supermarkets - Tesco certainly - is of a pitiful size. If they were my seed, I would only use them for green garlic.

2. Following from that, tiny cloves will produce tiny bulbs. Simple as that.

3. There is no need for it to be certified rot free seed. And you DO NOT want white rot in your plot.

4. OK - it's Garlic??

[garlicgirl]

Tried growing garlic from tesco last year. I got very small bulbs - some just one round clove! So I'm trying garden centre stuff this year.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Make sure you get good-sized bulbs. Garden centre garlic round here is pathetic, you'd be better off with tesco's.

[Tee Gee]

My garlic was originally a 'supermarket' variety but now it is 'selected stock' that is I always save the 4-5 biggest bulbs for planting out the following year.

Initially do as Robert says buy the biggest bulbs you can find in the supermarket.

When you split them only select the biggest cloves for planting eat the rest, even if this means buying a few more bulbs.

This year I am trying a new 'supermarket' variety

It is a variety I bought of the veg shelf in a Calahonda(Spain) supermarket. Had a look at it this morning and the tops are equally as good as my 'selected stock' so hopefully I am on to another winner!!

Incidently I also bought the biggest sweet pepper I have ever seen and a lovely tasting tomato in the same supermarket, I ate the pepper & tomato and saved the seeds.

I have managed to germinate sufficient seeds of both to suit my needs so fingers crossed.

So now my variety list reads like this;

Calhonda tomato

Calhonda pepper

Calahonda Garlic

Tesco Garlic

Eddies Tomato.........I got the seed from my mate Eddie

Josies tomato...........A lady named Josie on the allotment let me try one of her tomatoes I liked it so saved the seed

Lynnes plum.............A lady named Lynne on the allotment let me try one of her tomatoes I liked it so saved the seed

Feurta; A variety I tasted in Feurtaventura about 10 years ago, liked it and saved the seed

Luteus; A yellow pepper that is no longer on the market but is so easy to grow and always comes up with an abundance of nice blocky fruit.

Now I know that some people don't like 'Moneymaker' (why I don't know) but about 4-5 years ago I visited a 'tomato' farm on Gran Canaria and yes I now have a variety I call Spanish Moneymaker. It is much better than its English counterpart for cropping and size, not much difference in taste.

So you see I have around ten varieties of things that do not come from regular seed merchants and this must save me around £10- £15 pa.

[allaboutliverpool]

I have grown supermarket garlic, horseradish and jerusulum artichokes all ok!

[Sospan]

Tried growing garlic from tesco last year. I got very small bulbs - some just one round clove! So I'm trying garden centre stuff this year.

When did you plant it?  Garlic won't form multiple bulbs unless it has a cold spell, so if you planted it in the Spring, there's a chance that this explains the single bulbs.  Large cloves are better, but if you put them in now [for example], you'll be very lucky to get a decent crop, however large they are.

[allaboutliverpool]

I have added Garlic to my site and it answers your question. If you plant it now you will get something which is quite a thrill. Shove a few cloves from a bought garlic into a sunny spot and they will grow rapidly. The great pleasure of growing vegetables is that you will already anticipate next years crop and learn from this years experience.
If that is the case, you are hooked, if not-try knitting.

http://www.allaboutliverpool.com/allaboutallotments_Vegetables_garlic.html

You will see my mistakes!

[tim]

Just use the 'small fry' as green garlic Can't have enough of it!

[rutters]

what's green garlic?

cheers

[Curryandchips]

what's green garlic?

Think of it as immature or early harvested garlic (which it is), and use in a similar way to spring onions (which technically are immature onions). Raw on salads, or cooked, it brings a milder garlic flavour than ripened mature garlic, but is available NOW.

I have discovered some self planted stuff next to my shed, where I used to collect and sort my harvest. Small cloves must have fallen and got forgotten. However, I now have what appears to be a thick nest of stems, so may harvest these as green garlic, just waiting for the correct moment (ie when I am feeling inspired in the kitchen). Probably brie omelettes ...

[rutters]

thanks :)