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im probly going to sound really thick now. But can i buy garlic from the supermarket and plant it???????

Quote from: adam apple on September 04, 2008, 21:31:20
im probly going to sound really thick now. But can i buy garlic from the supermarket and plant it???????

Yes you can....BUT...it won't produce very big cloves. Will take up room, for not much yield

Always best to get *proper* cultivated garlic

Hi Adam, welcome to the site...  ;D

hi, adamapple, nice to meet you  ;D
I must admit, when we started, we used supermarket garlic, plus dried peas..I prefer proper garlic now  :)

Hi Adam, welcome to the forum.

One way to grow garlic is to buy your first lot from a reputable grower (I used Marshalls) and grow it, then save the biggest healthiest bulbs and plant them the following year and keep doing this.  It is thought that you gradually get a better yield as the garlic becomes adapted to your soil and grows better.

Sometimes the supermarket garlic is imported and not really suitable to grow here.

Good luck

T.

tulipa ..good advice mine is improving every year,first year from dads site the yield was poor but keeps improving,probably some scientific mumbo-jumbo why???

Just another bit of grist to the mill??

Large bulbs compared with what's on most supermarket shelves - 55mm across and 65g/2.5oz each. Stored in a warm dry place will keep well until March. The Garlic Farm.

[attachment=1] Marshalls Seeds - who now openly market the Garlic Farm's produce.

Spot the difference?

You on commission Tim?  ;)

Well I keep mine cool and dry, but not cold and dry. The coldness makes it grow so no good but I find if it is too warm it goes soft and rubbery and starts to go brown (not good).

I don't think there is a problem with using supermarket garlic but there are far nicer garlics out there, eg Purple Moldovan which I grew last year from the
[size=20Garlic Farm  ;D ;D ;Dpt][/size]and which is pure dead gorgeous!

Jennifer Birch of Garfield Villa, Belle Vue Road, Stroud, supplies a range of short dormancy and long dormancy varieties along with some very helpful cultivation notes and points to consider when selecting seed. She has imported and sold certified French seed garlic for 20 years and I have found it to be of excellent quality. (And no, I am not getting commission).

I've been using Marshalls for several years now and can recommend it.

For whom, Ceres??

French stock? If it works, fine, but most Continental seed is less good in our climate. Hence the UK stuff.

Quote from: hopalong on September 07, 2008, 12:51:20
Jennifer Birch of Garfield Villa, Belle Vue Road, Stroud, supplies a range of short dormancy and long dormancy varieties along with some very helpful cultivation notes and points to consider when selecting seed. She has imported and sold certified French seed garlic for 20 years and I have found it to be of excellent quality. (And no, I am not getting commission).

Does she sell online or just locally? I have never tried growing garlic from seed before, Coud be fun!

Quote from: tim on September 07, 2008, 13:09:03
For whom, Ceres??

Your mate Colin of course!  :-X
44

Quote from: grawrc on September 07, 2008, 13:25:54

Quote from: hopalong on September 07, 2008, 12:51:20
Jennifer Birch of Garfield Villa, Belle Vue Road, Stroud, supplies a range of short dormancy and long dormancy varieties along with some very helpful cultivation notes and points to consider when selecting seed. She has imported and sold certified French seed garlic for 20 years and I have found it to be of excellent quality. (And no, I am not getting commission).

Does she sell online or just locally? I have never tried growing garlic from seed before, Coud be fun!

She does not sell on line but you can phone her for a leaflet and order form (01 453 750 371).  I should stress that her "seed garlic" is supplied as bulbs which you divide into cloves and plant in the usual way.  An advantage of French garlic is that it has to meet government standards and is guaranteed to be free of nematodes and 99% virus and fungus free. And, in answer to Tim, French garlic certainly does grow well in this country

Thank you! I'll give it a go then. :)

My Mate, Ceres? Thought I was offering a comparison in technique between my favourite firm, Marshalls, & the other chap?

QuoteYes you can....BUT...it won't produce very big cloves.

Sorry I have to disagree with you Lauren

I have found that providing you use the largest cloves in the bulb you should be OK, eat the small ones.

This is my next years crop which has been saved from supermarket culinary bulbs (purchased many years ago).

I always save the largest bulbs each year for planting on the following year.

Note; The pot in shot is 4" diameter and the timber lath is 2" wide to give you an idea of size

 

and this is my shallots saved for next year;

True, TG - but, surely, the points against store bulbs are:

1. They are not bred for this country - however successful some experts are.
2. They are not 'certified' stock.

And, if you look at Tesco's recent offerings, I wouldn't even use them for wet garlic.

So long since I bought any that I don't know what they look like!! I don't think it's a problem though if you just want to try them out to see what you get..