Hi Guys,
Last year I planted some spring garlic - it had a funny name like fugyama or something like that. I planted it around March or April under a cloche and it shot up so it did. When the leaves went yellow I harvested it but I was pretty disappointed. The flavour was fantastic - really sharp and oniony(?) but the majority rotted and those that did come out were the size of a 2p coin. I started them off in the house in seed trays.
This year I'm trying Marco spring garlic and wasn't going to bother starting them in the house. I thought about using the cloches again but am not really sure for the best results. I thought last year may have been poor due to the amount of rainfall?
Do you need to water garlic much or just plant and forgettaboutit?
The local farmer has just dropped off the veggie box and says he has some well rotted manure, that he intends to use, which I can have for free!!!!!!!! - should I dig this in before I plant?
I also plan to plant some spuds which are chitting and onion sets. So many questions so little time....
Any help, greatly appreciated... ;D
Hi, I plant my onions and garlic in the autumn under nets, so far I've always had a good crop, much sooner and bigger! Last year was very wet, so may have been the problem. Not sure about compost and garlic, I think they need really good drainage, manure might make it too water retentive? But I always dig in some home grown compost before I plant potatoes. Sorry not to be more helpful. Good luck.
Rotted garlics.....are you sure you don't have the dreaded white rot on your plot? Why do you plant them under cloches? They are good and hardy - mine have been in since November and are looking fab. Rotted manure, get it in and then plant, should give them a really good running start!
Some garlic needs a cold snap to enable large bulbs to form .
So is best planted in the winter.
Cheers.
I only used the cloches to see if it would speed things up. The weather in Scotland is also pretty naff compared to down south so I thought the cloche would warm them up. It's also down to complete lack of experience.
I don't think it was the dreaded white rot - some were just mushy - could be white rot for all I know though!
I think I'll dig in the manure where I intend planting the spuds and then go easy where I plant the garlic. Thumbs up though - I'm planting garlic in the Autumn as well...
The cloche shall now stay in the shed!!
Cheers!