Garlic

[Newbie]

hello

I planted my bought onion sets (Radar) and self grown garlic (giant white i think) about 3 weeks ago into modules/pots in the greenhouse, the onions are going great guns and are going on for 2-3 inches high but the garlic has yet to make an appearence. Has it snuffed it do you think or is it just a bit too soon? How long should it be before it decides to make an appearence or should i plant a fresh lot?

Questions, questions, questions!!

many thanks!

[poozie]

I would have thought they would have started yo show now, mines sped away. How deep did you plant them?

[Newbie]

just under the surface, same as the onions. i thought they'd be up by now too, perhaps i'd better sow some more!

[poozie]

when i planted mine I was daydreaming, and realised i had planted half of the garlic, and some of the onions upside down, luckily they are in modules so it was easy to sort out.

Not suggesting thats your problem, maybe they are just slow starting.

[BrideXIII]

well its never too late to try again, get one from the shop, put individual cloves flat end down on wet kitchen paper, you should have roots in a day or 3, then pot up for a week or two, until the shoots are a good 4-6 inches tall, then plant them out , unless its really frosty by them.can't hurt to try.

[Stacey Steve]

Why plant sets into modules?

I plant mine straight out and have had no problems. Garlic benefits from frost, it helps to get the plant to grow cloves evidentially.

[Newbie]

mainly because my soil is really heavy clay & gets really sticky & awful over winter, plus i am hoping to expand the veg patch over winter so i've put them in modules till its all ready for planting in spring (hopefuly!).

[BrideXIII]

well there should be plenty of time to start some more off then if you are doing them in a greenhouse, I would suggest pots rather than modules though, give them more space for roots etc over winter.

[rustylady]

hello

I planted my bought onion sets (Radar) and self grown garlic about 3 weeks ago into modules/pots in the greenhouse, the onions are going great guns and are going on for 2-3 inches high but the garlic has yet to make an appearence. Has it snuffed it do you think or is it just a bit too soon?

Tip a few of the cells out and have a look. If the garlic is soft and rotten chuck them out and start again.

[poozie]

mine are in large modules in my back yard, mainly because we are not quite ready to plant them at allotment, lack of space. Maybe you could bring them out of the greenhouse?

[HotStuff]

I planted my garlic in a raised bed on 10/10, intermingled with my Nantes Frubund carrots which were already showing. After reading this thread I was worried because I hadn't seen any life from the garlic yet. So I braved the rotten weather and went and checked and some of them are showing

[marigold007]

I planted mine out (Sultop French garlic) two weeks ago. Last week when I went, there wasn't any showing yet but some fisherman had nicely walked all over my garlic and shallots bed, so I put up a net and haven't been back to see the progress yet. I guess this might be good for the garlic now that they are in nice contact with the soil. I better go today. I haven't seen the sun in ages. I hope my Frubunds are up!! Last time I went, the pak choi, lettuce blends, and turnips had all germinated.

[Birdie Wife]

Don't worry, garlic can be really slow in getting going. It's unlikely to have rotted unless your veg garden has been underwater for the last two weeks! I planted mine last year about this time and it didn't show until late April - I was just about giving up hope. Still got a fairly good crop though.

[mcsee]

Birdie - with your Garlic do you let it flower before you dig it out. Mine is just getting scapes showing now. I haven't grown it for so long, I'm not sure when it's ready.

[Paulottie]

mainly because my soil is really heavy clay & gets really sticky & awful over winter, plus i am hoping to expand the veg patch over winter so i've put them in modules till its all ready for planting in spring (hopefuly!).

Can't see the point here...The idea is to get the roots down before winter to allow them to get away quickly in spring, why not spend the time improving your soil and plant sets in spring or seed into modules over winter?

Birdie - with your Garlic do you let it flower before you dig it out. Mine is just getting scapes showing now. I haven't grown it for so long, I'm not sure when it's ready.

Shall I field this one birdie?

Garlic is ready in June from a November planting.(so i guess that would be about Xmas from an April planting there) Usually the leaves start to turn brown when it is ready. It is not desirable to let them flower for two reasons..you want all energy to go into the bulb production and it also makes them difficult to plait. Bolting is normally brought on by irregular watering or poor soil...not the end of the world... just pinch out the flower heads soonest.