Planting garlic first time help!

**zazen999** · 22-11-2009, 09:00 AM

Nope, I don't mulch. Just pop them in a couple of inches deep and leave them be.

**Bigmallly** · 22-11-2009, 10:30 AM

Oooooooops, I've already split the bulbs into cloves & planted them last month, is this wrong as they are all showing through.

**broadway** · 22-11-2009, 10:53 AM

Originally posted by Bigmallly View Post

Oooooooops, I've already split the bulbs into gloves & planted them last month, is this wrong as they are all showing through.

I don't thing so BM although it'smy first year so I could be wrong!

I planted mine about the same time as you and the shoots are about 3 - 4 inches.

**zazen999** · 22-11-2009, 10:56 AM

Originally posted by Bigmallly View Post

Oooooooops, I've already split the bulbs into gloves & planted them last month, is this wrong as they are all showing through.

They can be planted anytime between august and december; don't worry!

**HotStuff** · 22-11-2009, 11:25 AM

Originally posted by Bigmallly View Post

Oooooooops, I've already split the bulbs into cloves & planted them last month, is this wrong as they are all showing through.

I may be wrong but I think there might be a slight confusion here. You buy a bulb of Garlic and split it into cloves before you plant it. Each clove will grow into a bulb, but a period of low temperature is required to trigger the process that makes the new bulb split into cloves (this is called vernalisation).

Hope this helps

**greengas** · 22-11-2009, 01:15 PM

Originally posted by HotStuff View Post

I may be wrong but I think there might be a slight confusion here. You buy a bulb of Garlic and split it into cloves before you plant it. Each clove will grow into a bulb, but a period of low temperature is required to trigger the process that makes the new bulb split into cloves (this is called vernalisation).

Hope this helps

Thanks so no leaves or staw then

**HotStuff** · 22-11-2009, 01:19 PM

Originally posted by greengas View Post

Thanks so no leaves or staw then

Personally, no.

**SarzWix** · 22-11-2009, 01:25 PM

I've never mulched mine either - living in a fairly wet part of the country, I think a mulch would retain unnecessary moisture and possibly encourage rotting. In a very dry area a mulch might be more beneficial

**jojo2910** · 22-11-2009, 01:54 PM

Could anyone help this fellow first time garlic planter? I have planted mine as above and the shoots are already 6 inches tall. Is this normal or are they likely to bolt?

Thanks.

**zazen999** · 22-11-2009, 04:02 PM

Originally posted by jojo2910 View Post

Could anyone help this fellow first time garlic planter? I have planted mine as above and the shoots are already 6 inches tall. Is this normal or are they likely to bolt?

Thanks.

Bolt, or flower?

It depends on the garlic itself and how cold it gets in the winter. Garlic isn't like onions, if they flower it isn't the end of the world. You can still leave the bulbs to mature and eat the cloves.

**gojiberry** · 22-11-2009, 05:56 PM

There are two sorts of garlic (sorry I can never remember which is which) hardneck and softneck. I think it is the softneck that will form scapes in the spring which are the flower heads, this is normal and the scapes are used for cooking. The bulb will also form cloves which tend to be larger than hardneck varieties but doesn't keep very long. It isn't likely that hardneck will bolt, if it does, just cut the flower heads off.

Ian

**HotStuff** · 22-11-2009, 06:05 PM

Originally posted by gojiberry View Post

There are two sorts of garlic (sorry I can never remember which is which) hardneck and softneck. I think it is the softneck that will form scapes in the spring which are the flower heads, this is normal and the scapes are used for cooking. The bulb will also form cloves which tend to be larger than hardneck varieties but doesn't keep very long. It isn't likely that hardneck will bolt, if it does, just cut the flower heads off.

Ian

It's hardneck that forms scapes.

**greengas** · 23-11-2009, 03:42 PM

Thank you grapes once again for all your advice. I have ordered from Dobbies a good hardneck variety and also from The really garlicky garilc company(who I think featured on the f-word or Marco Pierre White's show a couple of years back). I hope they arrive by Thursday or Friday and weather is drier to get down and palnt them out on my days off. I am really looking forward to growing my own garlic as it is the most used ingredient in my kitchen

**Allotment Babe** · 23-11-2009, 04:37 PM

Garlic

Hi - I simply break into individual cloves and push down a thumbs depth with just the top poking out. The only thing you have to occasionally check is whether the birds have pulled them up (like they can with onion sets thinking they're worms) and simply re-bury them with just the top showing. I did mine a month ago and they have fairly large green leaves as do my over-winter onions, I'm just assuming that if it gets too cold they'll slow down in growth.

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