Yellow Garlic

[Barnowl]

We've been away for 5 days; rain was promised  for the first two so we didn't worry, but it turned out that there was no rain at all in London and it was really hot.  Our garlic has gone very yellow and pretty rusty. I've dug up a few and the bulbs seem ok if a little small. Should I dig the rest up or leave them for longer in the hope that the bulbs bulk up  more.


Ps The winter onions are a quite yellow as well and only a few have bent over so far

[Barnowl]

[Robert_Brenchley]

The garlic may be almost ripe; leave it a bit and see if any flops over.

[louise stella]

The garlic may be almost ripe; leave it a bit and see if any flops over.

Sooooooooooo  .......I guess that's how you tell they're ready???

Louise

[tim]

The grower says "when 10% have gone over".

[OllieC]

The Italian guy on our plot says you have to pick it just before it starts to falls over. Er... made me chuckle anyway.

[Barnowl]

Hmmm....number of possibilities then!

Would this be a fair summary?

Leave as long as possible to allow best bulbing up, but not so long as to let rot develop (which will depend to some extent on wetness of soil) or to let the cloves go into another growing cycle. A good indicator is when the leaves start to topple over.

Wash and dry after picking. Once dry, the roots can be trimmed off.