Garlic from seed (not from mature cloves)

[newgranny]

Has anyone tried to grow garlic from the seed heads off the previous years crop? I saved 3 heads from last summer and after separating them, threw all the little white seeds/cloves into a seed tray with some compost not expecting anything to happen. During a recent visit to the greenhouse I was shocked to see hundreds of seedlings growing! Will these mature this year or need growing on for next year, or am I wasting my time.

[newgranny]

[manicscousers]

Hiya, newgranny welcome to a4a  ;D
sorry, can't help with the question but a garlic expert will be along soon  :)

[realfood]

They should only form small heads of garlic this year, and will need to grow on for a further year for full sized heads.

[chriscross1966]

If they grow like shallots then you'd expect a single-clove bulb this year... it's the next bit of an experiment I'm doing where I've planted some single-clove bulbs (big ones though) to see what they do

chrisc

[Vinlander]

This is a traditional way to grow-on rocambole garlic. They are actually a kind of offset - not a true seed.

I'm currently trying this too.

Doing the same thing with leeks has become my standard method - I'd recommend it (you get more, sooner and better offsets if you cut off all the flowers as soon as they can be got at).

If they grow like leeks then the larger ones can do better than actual seeds - which still fits in with what Chriscross1966 said - you should get a useful-sized single clove. You might even get an extra large clove - just like you get when you plant a small clove in March - I find these very useful in the kitchen.

Cheers.