Buying Garlic and Shallots

[cambourne7]

Hi Guys

I am looking to pick up some shallots, garlic and elephant garlic for next year. I have been looking at the prices and am tempted to pick it up from the french place.

Shallot Escalotte Grise
================
T&M          500g       Â£5.49
Marshalls    25bulbs  £5.85
Baumaux      500g       Â£4.24 (6,30â,¬)
Garlic Farm 15sets    £9.00

(500g = approx 15-20 sets )

Garlic - Elephant
===========
T&M -            Sold out ( would have been £6.99 for 12 cloves )
Garlic Farm  -  8 Cloves   Â£9
Marshalls    -  15 cloves £6.75

Garlic - Purple
=========
Marshalls   -  25cloves  £4.75
T&M     -  2 bulbs    £3.99
Baumax    -  5 bulbs   Â£3.83 (5,70â,¬)

Garlic - White
=========
Marshalls   -  25cloves  £4.75
T&M     -  2 bulbs    £3.99
Baumax    -  5 bulbs   Â£3.90 (5,80â,¬) or different variaty £4.71 (7â,¬)


Baumax link - http://www.graines-baumaux.fr/ postage £8  (12â,¬)
Garlic Farm - http://www.thegarlicfarm.co.uk postage £4.75
Marshalls - http://www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk £3.75

What do you think i should do?

Cambourne7

[cambourne7]

[Barnowl]

Sorry, but may I confuse matters by adding Seeds of Italy's offerings?

http://www.seedsofitaly.com/catalogue/15

[debster]

i went to purchase pots garlic onion and shallot sets from t & m ones that were marked as autumn stock they had no garlic and none of the potatoes onions or shallots i ordered so check availability with them

[tim]

Deal with a small British company which will see you right should you have a problem.

Might be cheaper in the end?

[cambourne7]

like whom tim?

Barnowl, seeds of italy yep good call forgot about them :-)

They seam to be sold out of the purple garlic but there white garlic is cheap enough at £2.49 for 3 bulbs. I could not see any shallots though.

[Barnowl]

I think it's a bit early for garlic. Will wait until this season's crops and seed garlic are sorted out.

[allaboutliverpool]

Quite honestly after the disaster this year, I am going back to Tesco and French markets.

The expensive Albegensian Wight and Wight Cristo that I bought from T&M was plagued by rust from the very first green shoots. They were not grown on or near last years garlic bed and I did not use compost, but horse manure.

Believe it or not but last years crop of hard stem Tesco garlic is still useable in a gloomy garage.

Compare the two photographs, taken on July 1st 2006 & July 1st 2007.





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

I will mention shallots when I return from Nice, but when I left the T&M ones were poor and the endlessly recycled anonymous ones were great.

[Deb P]

I bought mine from this company last year, excellent prices and good stock. They will be selling new stock in August...

http://www.bulbs.co.uk/1/default.asp

[tim]

Like the Garlic Farm, Cambourne - I know they are seen as expensive but.....!

Allabout - when you return - not a pretty sight, but can you really blame the seed for rust?

We have grown from a variety of suppliers ove rthe years & have never had rust - until this year, when it seems to have hit many people. And, with us, it has hit plants from 2 suppliers.

[allaboutliverpool]

Tim
It is a relief to know that I am not alone, maybe I am a little hasty, but to be sure, I shall grow 2 half beds thirty feet apart one with bought garlic from a supplier and one with market/Tesco garlic. I love experimenting and with digital photography is is easy to record results, (and with A4A), share them!

[cambourne7]

Good idea :-)

[Robert_Brenchley]

Last year I had a little rust on the garlic, which did no harm. This year it's been building up steadily; the early garlic was orange but OK, the maincrop is dying back. it's a fungus, and fungi like damp conditions. I don't think the supplier is at fault.

[pigeonseed]

shallots always seem to sell out very early. Maybe I should start a shallot farm and sell them to gardeners.

...but where would i get enough shallots to start the farm??? ;-)

[cambourne7]

pigeon you could grown them from seed :-)

T&M have just send out a email offering 10% off garlic so its going to sell quickly.

[cambourne7]

Further to my first post i have the details now from Kings.

There selling

Purple Garlic - 3 bulbs £2.45
White Garlic - 3 bulbs £2.45
There also selling onion sets very cheap which well be 4-6 weeks earlier than the sets planted in spring
Senshyu Yellow £1.75 (50sets) Red onion electric £2.25 (50sets)
postage & packing £1.25

And a recomendation about http://www.reallygarlicky.co.uk/main.html

Who will be selling bulbs of planting garlic for 40pence each :) and £1.50 postage and packing

[weedin project]

We bought some long shallots in a supermarket in la belle France last October and put 20 of them in a little row in early November - we got a luvverly crop out of them.  Cost us less than a Euro for them.
Won't be replanting any of them for another crop though, just in case there are any nasties.

[cambourne7]

Nice :-) Will keep my eye out when i head to france later in the year.

I am planning on growing most of my onions from seed this year its just the shallots and garlic that i need to buy.

[Tee Gee]

Interesting thread this particularly because I am having to stock up next year with some new stock this year as last years was rubbish.

As I have mentioned before I like to buy from  local supermarkets even if 'local' means Spain where I bought last years Peppers & Tomatoes both of which are doing well.

My question is; I am off to the Med this September namely the Greek islands & Croatia where do you think I should buy my garlic?

I await your answers!

[Deb P]

I feel I am unable to reply to any satisfactory level without seeing the potential purchases myself and assessing their quality.......got any room in your suitcase? (would have to be more of an ocean liner type trunk actually.... :-\)

[silverbirch]

I'm going to add my two penn'orth, just to confuse things.  I buy the majority of my stuff from Tamar Organics, and I've never had any complaints with either the quality of stock or the service I get.  Slightly batty, but lovely people.
http://www.tamarorganics.co.uk/