I always keep a bulb of the previous year's garlic to re-sow in the autumn. This year it has looked very very good and healthy, until about a week ago when they have developed what I assume is rust. Never seen it before. The leaves are turning brown, but whether because they are now ripe, or because of the rust, I don't know!
I've just dug up one to have a look. The bulb is the biggest I've ever grown. The neck is still very thick. (I don't know what sort of garlic- thick neck or the other sort).
Would it be wisest to dig them all up now and dry them off above ground, or to leave them in the ground? Is the rust going to affect to bulbs? Thanks for any advice.
On my site every single garlic plant on every plot has rust this year. They look miserable, but underground they seem fine. Mine are the sort that flower (hardneck) but some have fallen over, so I have been pulling them. Don't know if this is the best idea, but they should be standing upright.
I have also pulled those that have no functioning leaves at all, on the grounds they cannot grow any more, and again they are a reasonable size and unblemished.
I cannot recommend Elephant Garlic too highly - such a treat to dig up a few (as I have done recently because they are in the wrong place) and watch people's jaws drop. Lovely mild flavour when thrown into casseroles.
Riddled with rust this year Peanuts. Must expose the bulbs to get the (sun >:) to ripen them!
Here's hoping.
Yes..mine finally got the rust too.. ::) This year it is all down to the wet weather.
Once the tops have gone brown..with or without rust..all you can do is get them up as soon as possible and get them to dry.. ::) I'm hoping a gap in a weather..even few hours would be lovely and I shall lift mine up..get them on bread trays and keep them under cover in polytunnel where they WILL dry in few weeks.. ::)
Once dry I tidy the bulbs up and they will happily store for long while.
Rust doesn't effect the 'finished product'..but all the dead foliage need to be cleaned off once dry reducing the chance of storing the spores for next year.
Thanks very much for advice. We are in for a dry period now, so I will lift them tomorrow and dry them out in our (shhhh!) warm sunshine.
I lifted my very rusty garlic yesterday and it is really good. Would you advise getting new bulbs for next season?
(http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t87/ninnyscrops/IMG_0859.jpg)
Rusted garlic leaves that had a quick shimmy to remove the dried ones.
(http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t87/ninnyscrops/IMG_0858.jpg)
Garlic heads that need a quick fluff up on the roots to get rid of the dried soil before hanging.
This is not my main crop, but hubby's "vampire planting" around the plot last year. ;D
Ninny
I put a trellis on top of a ladder and my garlic is now hanging upside down. I took several leaves off leaving half a stem and washed the bulbs and cut the roots, as I wasn`t going to store it hence the massacre but I have changed my mind. All the bulbs are a good size and some are outstanding, so I am going to replant it again. This time I will put sulphate of potash down first and I will space them out better but they are so worth keeping going. They are jolimont and re-planted ones at that
This is my first year at garlic, and I dug one up today that looks like real garlic! I tried a couple of weeks back and it just looked straight so I guessed they weren't ready then. The leaves are very rusty but still mainly green. Should I leave them in longer to get fatter?
I'm not sure, but I always think when they start to be less leafy, they're storing energy in their bulb and closing down, so I usually wait till then.
A few of mine had started to look finished, but when I dug them up they were still very underdeveloped and a bit rotten on the outside - not white rot, just soggy, soggy weather rot. :(
Have just watched Monty Don dig his up, but they are much bigger than mine. He seemed to be saying that if they look fine, leave them, but if they have rust, get them up and use them fresh if they're not hard enough to store. It's all a bit confusing!
We dug ours up, stripped the leaves and froze them :)
I really am p'#ssed off with the rust this year. I planted beautiful big cloves last Oct and they've really come to nothing. I'm still using last years massive crop but I shan't keep any of this lot. Now where can one buy garlic that hasn't been wrecked by the weather etc? Spain??? Think I shall get my next batch from the greengrocer..... >:(
we have started eating some of ours, 4 bulbs so far and they are utterly gorgeous in a mix of roasted veggies. I don`t think I have ever tasted anything like it but I have never used green garlic, always going down the dried route. I have now doubled the amount I plan to grow this autumn but I will be sticking to jolimont plus a personal try of belle italiano.
Re preserving: I have two excellent methods if normal drying is not going to work.
Whizz lots of cloves in olive oil and freeze immediately, it can easily be scooped for cookinG
Slice and dehydrate
I have rust on my garlic also,we dug one up to see what it looked like,it was a good big bulb Ive got about hundred planted i would like to know how to pickle them ,these were bulbs brought from Turkey last September.
Mine always have rust and the bulbs are always fine - don't worry about it too much.
You can spray with a baking soda mix..1 gallon water, 1Tbsp baking soda, 2.5 Tbsp vegetable oil - spary every day for several days in a row should help to keep it at bay.
Mine have rust too- they always do. I dug up those with yellow leaves but have left the ones with green leaves even though they have rust as some of them don't seem to have formed proper cloves yet, although they are a decent size. Should I lift them anyway?
i thought that it was only best to lift them when the leaves have yellowed/died down (usually early/mid-July) , and only on dry days so that the bulb have more chance of drying out better than on wet days...
I've lifted a couple and most have okish bulb sizes, not hugely big, but fine. one or two out of 6 have just been singles, so that makes me believe that there is still time for them to develop. with them all covered in rust and most have almost yellowed or leaves dying off, shall i lift them all (I've about 80 of both hard and softneck varieties).
I am hygienic with my plot and remove any diseased plants but what is the point when neighbours on both sides just leave their rusty garlic and leeks to rot
The rust really has not affected the bulbs at all tbh and maybe planting these next year will build up some immunity. I live in hope
Quote from: irridium on June 24, 2012, 18:31:26
I've lifted a couple and most have okish bulb sizes, not hugely big, but fine. one or two out of 6 have just been singles, so that makes me believe that there is still time for them to develop. with them all covered in rust and most have almost yellowed or leaves dying off, shall i lift them all (I've about 80 of both hard and softneck varieties).
The single ones are best used, as if planted later in the year, they will throw up individual shoots next year and no good for storing.
Ninnys
My rusty garlic is up and luckily they got it late stage so the bulb size wasn't effected. I've lifted this unknown variety up about 2 weeks earlier than I would normally do.
Other varieties that are still maturing only have odd spot of rust..those can stay in and grow on.
I notice that your garlic is coloured. Mine is white. Is it just the variety or has something gone wrong?
It is the variety.. ;D
This particular variety has deep purple skin. I've got white and creamy skinned ones too.
goodlife: your garlic looks great - what variety are they? i've lifted about 10 more today and i'd say some of them were singles, so i think they're a certain variety that haven't done so well (either thermidrome, marco, cristo and lastly but unlikely, music). the others i'd say are just smaller than yours, with some around the same size. so all in all, not such a bad crop for it's first season on the lotti.
ninny: thanks for the tip about the singles. i shall use them fresh then..
i don't think i'll get much success with the shallots tho' as i haven't seen much division of bulbs forming.
My English is white and my French is red.
Ninny
goodlife: your garlic looks great - what variety are they? i've lifted about 10 more today and i'd say some of them were singles
I don't know what variety they are. I've grown them for 'donkey's year' and that info got lost. I used to grow soooo many varieties and those sort of 'self selected' themselves for being best of the 'bunch'.
I'm getting back into old habbit now and slowly building up the variety numbers.. ::) Trying to keep labels 'glued' on this time.
Where you 'late' with you garlic planting last year? Often those that didn't get sufficient winter temperature exposure...or had too short growing season for other reasons produce single 'bulbs'...the clove need certain amount of cold to tricker into division. Or other common reason for 'bulbing' is that if the planted clove is been 'too' small..they need to reach certain size first before they are mature enough for division. That's why you 'hear' the mantra 'plant the largest cloves from the bulb'. You can plant every single clove but the smallest ones will need grown 'twice' before they make big divided bulbs.
There is nothing wrong with the large 'bulb cloves' and you can plant them again in autumn they just need extra time for completing the bulbing.
Same happens to little bulbils that grow into 'flower' heads.. they often develop for just single large 'bulb clove' in their early stages.
They were all planted out on 7th Nov. and it was Marco that came up first on 2nd Dec. (the others took their time). I've planted all the smaller cloves out knowingly at the time, it wasn't advisable ::) but have forgotten since then..! When I was buying seed stock at prices of £3 for two bulbs, I wouldn't want to waste them, did I?! Now I've learnt and shan't be doing that again!
I have intentions of saving all my stock for seed for next year, but am unsure as to which variety was which. Isn't softneck the ones that doesn't keep as long as the hardneck? or are they're both good for storing? I've noticed you and another poster have shown pics of theirs washed. shall I do the same to mine if I intend to save them?
Mine are not washed..I just shake the excess soil off roots and wipe the surface off from the worst 'mud'.
They are now in GH on old plastic bread tray drying out. Once they are dry I cut the roots (and tops, though often not ) down with secateurs and if in need I remove the first papery layer from the bulb that still look dirty. Usually if it the garlic is for my use I don't bother tidying up the 'skin but those for 'display' or given away I pruce up looking very 'polish'... ;)
Other than that...after drying out they get bundled up or bagged in net bags and hung up in frost free place.
For long storage is better the less you damage the papery outer layers. Those will keep the cloves from drying out prematurely..that's why it is better to leave the bulbs intact and not splitting the cloves for planting until just before the job... ;)
Generally softnecks are said to store better..however..depending of variety of hardneck and how you store you garlic (what ever the type), even the hardnecks should store fine well into next year. This particular variety that I showed on photo usually last for me until March-April.
Last season I planted some Marco in spring rather than previous autumn, most of them came up as single bulbs. Planted out 5 of them last autumn and they have grown into normal, very early clove laden bulbs. Not knocked out by flavour but the early cropping is useful.
i'd like to add an jpeg image, but don't know how to do this...i've clicked on the picture icon, but it just comes up with image brackets in the message box.. ::) sorry, being a ditz again!
i've just taken up my garlic due to rust it's not as big as last years crop but big enough to eat ,it's about the same size as supermarket garlic.
i've got elephant garlic which was next to it with no signs of rust.
(http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss15/dogstarheaven/Photoon2012-06-26at0904-1.jpg) here's the garlic as promised. it's not done v well as i didn't have a camera, so used my webcam on my Mac instead ::) (hence, the brightness of the white bulbs.. sorry!)
Hey!...photo is a photo and it doesn't matter how you did it..it worked!... ;D
As for your garlic...they look fine. You've got few whoppers there..well done.. ;)
thanks! was meant to go down with DD but it was chucking it down earlier, and there's no point in going as it'll be too wet to dig (if you look at the other pic (on The Shed - Good News) you'll see how scruffy my lotti is, and there's still a lot to do!
glad I dug most of the garlic now. think I have around 40 bulbs (at least half were v good size) and again the same in singles. thinking back about the singles theory, i think they're all from a red-skinned variety, altho' not sure out of the ones i've bought - either Cristo, Marco, Thermidrome or Printador. Some of them tho' did bulb up, but mainly were all singles.
you'll see how scruffy my lotti is, and there's still a lot to do! My view is that it doesn't matter what the lottie looks like..as long as you are able to grow crops on it. Allotments are not ' Chelsea show gardens'.. ;)...and there is always lot to do ..never ends.. ::)
Now that we've had few dry days I've put some serious hours to get my lotties under control. I'm not even near there yet...but it does make you feel better when you have short moment having all unnecessary growth tamed..oh, as I'm typing it started to rain ::)..tamed..ha..you turn back and it will be all back with vengeance.. ::)
I agree, none of my elephant garlics have rust, and they are surrounded by sad rusty normal garlic.
Quote from: goodlife on June 28, 2012, 08:22:43
Allotments are not ' Chelsea show gardens'.. ;)...and there is always lot to do ..never ends.. ::)
[/quote]
Not a truer word printed Goodlife!
Ninny
Had to dig up Lautrec (French-type hard neck) last night as leaves completely rusted away. All bulbs very small and well disappointed. Hoping Solent Wight will be a bit better, at least there was still a bit of green in them. Visions of a happy garlic munching year ahead fading fast.
Quote from: goodlife on June 28, 2012, 08:22:43
you'll see how scruffy my lotti is, and there's still a lot to do! My view is that it doesn't matter what the lottie looks like..as long as you are able to grow crops on it. Allotments are not ' Chelsea show gardens'.. ;)...and there is always lot to do ..never ends.. ::)
Now that we've had few dry days I've put some serious hours to get my lotties under control. I'm not even near there yet...but it does make you feel better when you have short moment having all unnecessary growth tamed..oh, as I'm typing it started to rain ::)..tamed..ha..you turn back and it will be all back with vengeance.. ::)
well, i suffer from a bit of inadequacy from a few seasoned lotti ppl (the older ones with their decades toiled, well-structured/landscaped plots) and some non-gardening friends who've not given me much praise/positive acknowledgment upon their initial visits to the plot, so i'm always a bit dubious about how it's perceived by others.. to me the lotti's fine. it could do with more effort on my part, but there are days when i don't fancy doing much, just potter around, doing bits here n' there... i don't do massive bouts of energetic digging thesedays (did in the winter) as weather's been up n' down.. hate it when it's too hot as i get too drained otherwise..
thanks anyway for your support..
so glad the majority of the garlics lifted up (left some behind purposefully as DD has come up and thought she'd like to dig the rest - she's recently got into gardening when she's chanced upon my plant porn catalogues!) when that storm came yesterday..
drat, it's raining again this morning! hope it'll clear at some point at the w/e...