Problem with GARLIC????

[DawnF]

Hi,
I planted some garlic on my new allotment before the frost + snow.
I checked the depth of planting + spacing as suggested.
Been back over the lottie since the snow and most of the cloves of garlic are now clearly visible on the surface of the soil. Clove of garlic +green shoots + roots all showing above the surface !!!!!
HOW HAS THI HAPPENED
Do I
1. gently push them back down below the surface ?
2.  mound up soil to cover them from Squirrels + rabbits + birds?
3. I leave them ???

Please help
Thankyou

[DawnF]

[grawrc]

I wouldn't push them down - you could damage the roots - and I wouldn't leave them. Either raise the soil level around them or carefully lift the whole plant with its ball of soil and dig a hole so that when you put it in it's at the correct depth.

I can only assume that the freezing of the soil has pushed them up???? :-\ :-\ :-\

Oops! sorry! Edited to say welcome to A4A. I hadn't noticed the newbie tag. :-[

[phlips66]

hiya dawn
i see you are new to allotmenting so welcome toa4a and you are in the right place for any advice,or just any genral nonsense that is going on.
  as for your garlic just plant them back in the soil with the tops just sticking out the soil,they should be fine,and when the weather improves they should take off nicely.
try not to push the cloves back into the soil with your fingers,this can sometimes bruise and damage the clove

[PurpleHeather]

This is a constant cause of arguments with garlic and onions.

People keep saying birds are pecking them out of the soil but what actually happens is that the roots come and if the ground is not soft enough they seem to bounce out. the roots want to grow into the soil but if it is too hard ' either due to the texture of the soil or it is frozen
they cant.

You can easily make a soft area and replant the garlic, carefully lifting them first.

They are very hardy so will recover.

[Robert_Brenchley]

I dib small holes (push the dibber in halfway) and drop the cloves in. Nothing ever comes back up. Then I add a couple of inches of dead leaves or grass cuttings, which keeps the weeds down till they're well grown.

[Digeroo]

The ones I planted earliest have not come back up but loads of the last bulb are all over the place as are some onions.  I have carefully dug a hole big enough to take the root and then carefully lowered it into the hole and smoothed it round. 

Some of them have little teeth marks in so I think they do need covering as quickly as possible.  I think I will try the leaves Robert for a bit of added protection.

[Jokerman]

just rebury them, make a little hole, plop them in and add some compost on top. :)

[saddad]

Welcome to A4A Dawn  :)