Allotments 4 All

These were flopping over fast, so I lifted them this afternoon. The size is very variable, but overall it's not a bad crop from 15 sets.

Ours are probably a bit smaller than that. About 15 per plant.

Lovely - really like those

That's an excellent rate of return, and a delicacy :P :) Where did you get the original sets Robert?

They look good to me too Robert, I wonder where you & Tim bought yours from as I had already made a note to try them next year?

http://www.thegarlicfarm.co.uk/ . I had Eschalote Grise, Solent Wight, Albigensian Wight and Elephant Garlic from them last year, and they've all done well. I'll probably have some Early Wight this year, I don't have any early garlic.

My banana red shallots flopped weeks ago but the shallots have grown considerably since. I'm wondering if banana shallots ( which eschallots grises are) have a tendency to flop too.

Dunno; I tend to lift all Alliums as soon as they flop, but I could be wrong in some cases. Looking at the instructions from the Garlic Farm, they say 'Harvest in June as green leaves begin to dry. Do not leave in soil.' OK, not many leaves are beginning to dry yet (some are), but it's the right time of year. I doubt whether a week or two would have made much difference to the size now, especially in this drought.

I cant find a price on the garlic farm site but Edwin
Tucker  has 10 sets @ £2.50....is this about right ?
Wilkos elephant garlic has done very well!

There's no price, but it's far too early to plant them yet anyway. I think I paid £9 last year for 15 sets; they're pricy but the quality is excellent. It would be worth Emailing them.

I cooked some in a curry tonight; they really made my eyes water, and the small size made them fiddly to do (hopefully a wetter season should produce bigger ones), but it was worth it when I got there.