I have to keep moving the net higher and higher (in same bed as brassicas). Is this normal?
Mine is about the same hight, they will probably stop growing now and start to bulb up also You don't really need to net them so you can remove it.
Really it's the cabbages that are netted to stop the pigeons. When is harvesting time? and will they keep/store okay as I think I recall the supermarket ones go mouldy after a couple of weeks in the fridge?
Quote from: spudcounter on June 16, 2010, 09:06:07
fridge
That's your problem! The fridge isn't the best place for them... Fridges are for meat & beer! Garlic just needs to be kept dry.
Supermarket ones have been in storage for months before they go on sale.
As long as they are dried out properly they should last ages.
I expect the method will be the same as for onions.
What do you all do with the flowering stems that you get on your garlic?
OC
To store garlic, I keep them in the allotment shed to dry out for a good 10 days, I keep the stems on and braid them then hang them up in the pantry. They last a good 10 months like that.
never put onions or garlic in the fridge. It rots them. In fact many veg hate fridges, like tomatoes and courgettes. I find that they keep better in a cool place.
Just pick off the flowering stems. They're good in stirfries and the like. If you're worried about storing garlic - I can never keep it past Easter - Blend it and freeze it into cubes. That gives you a convenient supply of instant pre-prepared garlic!
Robert
Glad that someone else has found out what a sweet treat they are. You would be amazed at the number that go straight onto the heap and not into the pan!
OC
I take the flowering stalks off, chop them up and put them in the freezer using them as and when in stir frys and soups etc. I leave one bulb with it's stalk on and when it has changed from being spirally to pointing straight up I know that the crop is ready for harvesting. I keep the bulbs in an onion sack hung up under our joint alley way where it is cool and dry. I use them during the summer and then peel the rest and freeze them as whole cloves for using throughout the year. Hope that all helps.
DO NOt keep your garlic in a fridge. Cold indicates winter to garlic so it starts to sprout ready to be planted out...........
Onions are much the same.
If you recall a rustic French Style Image of a peasant home these items are kept hanging in the kitchen area from the ceilings.
There is an ancient saying about onion type bulbs plant out on the shortest day of the year and harvest on the longest.
I am not saying it is perfect advice with modern varieties in the whole of Europe but it gives an indication.
Plants in general have a natural instinct of things......heat ...dry........wet,.....light..dark.....cold. Can put them into reproductive mode
Depending on the plant..
Learning this is how you control your garden/allotment.
Learning how they behave with extremes is a good basis and it is often what the 'experts at garden centres, nurseries etc (many of whom charge a lot more for plants than we need to pay if we start them off ourselves.
A couple of years of learning the nature of the plants will save a fortune quite soon for a lot of growers.
Quote from: Robert_Brenchley on June 16, 2010, 11:28:49
Just pick off the flowering stems. They're good in stirfries and the like. If you're worried about storing garlic - I can never keep it past Easter - Blend it and freeze it into cubes. That gives you a convenient supply of instant pre-prepared garlic!
Are you growing hardnecks or softnecks? The flowering ones, hardnecks, don't keep that well, the softnecks keep a lot better. Also depends when you are planting them. October planted ones are nearly ready now, February planted ones should grow another month or two and then store for longer too.
Freezing is good too and makes cooking quicker because the preparations have been done and that is a very good thing too :)
I planted my garlic back end of September last year IIRC... might have been later./....they're all monsters, I've never grown so good.... had a bit of a firkle and the bulbs are all much bigger than anything I'e ever growen for the type before, hardneck, softneck and elephant ..... even the chinese single-clove looks like I've got as chance of a crop.... really I'm growing that for the flowers cos I want to see how true it comes from seed.... my opinion is that the single-clove garlic tyou see in shops is seed-grown, though of course I will tes the theory against autumn and spring sown cl;oves too.....
chrisc
Quote from: galina on June 18, 2010, 20:45:59
Are you growing hardnecks or softnecks? The flowering ones, hardnecks, don't keep that well, the softnecks keep a lot better.
I grow both types. I find they get to around April and either sprout or dry up. I'm not sure whether it's due to temperature or what.