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Disappointing Garlic

• Message 1. 

  Posted by annaw1 (U14287763) on Saturday, 24th July 2010

  Dug up my spring-planted allotment garlic today and it was a bit on the small side. My autumn-grown garlic from the garden was generally larger and sort of "cleaner" looking.
  
  Was the spring stuff smaller because it was planted a lot later or was it due to the hot weather? My books say garlic doesn't need a lot of water but perhaps I took that a bit literally (esp. considering the lack of rain!)

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• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by dirtyrob (U14395261) on Saturday, 24th July 2010

  annaw1, I always plant my garlic in mid February. I found my first couple of garlic bulbs were very good, so i'm going to get a good crop. Garlic, i find will decide when it will grow on it's own terms. I carefully dug up a garlic bulb about a month ago, it was still too small, so i replaced it in the soil. This same bulb i dug up the other day, and it was a good size. We have had plenty of rain since i dug it up first time round. Garlic can and will grow in dry weather, but i find it needs a good bit of rain at the end for it to swell.

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  Posted by doncat (U11203674) on Sunday, 25th July 2010

  I dug up my first bulb yesterday, planted in the spring, and it was small. I'll use it today anyway as I need it for a recipe but will leave the rest a few weeks more. It has been very dry here and I've read conflicting information about watering garlic but will start watering a bit more often as dirtyrob suggests and hope this will help the bulb swell. I think a lot of people don't harvest garlic until August and I know we're nearly there but maybe wait until mid to late August and just have the odd fresh bulb as it's needed.

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  Posted by doncat (U11203674) on Sunday, 25th July 2010

  Also, the foliage of my garlic still looks fairly healthy. It's beginning to get a bit brown and dry but still quite upright so I've taken that as another sign it's still not ready. Not that I'm an experienced garlic grower as this is my second year and last years efforts were really pathetic but my shallots that I dug up yesteday look great and their foliage completely died back ages ago.

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  Posted by jo4eyes (U13654107) on Sunday, 25th July 2010

  I read somewhere that you need to plant Garlic before the shortest day. It also needs/likes a cold spell, which this last Winter it got. So yesterday I harvested 90% of it- not all died back yet- & success! Nice big bulbs.
  
  Last year, 2008-9, I grew some in pots, planted in Feb & they werent anywhere near as good. So although this year I shall use pots again they will go in early. J.

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  Posted by realfood (U13916672) on Sunday, 25th July 2010

  Some garlic varieties, such as hardnecks tend to do better when planted in the Autumn. Some of the softnecks have not proved to be hardy in a hard Winter like we have just had, and may be better Spring sown.

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  Posted by annaw1 (U14287763) on Sunday, 25th July 2010

  Thanks guys. I think I will plant some more this autumn and maybe plant more in spring but earlier and just take care to water them a bit more if its really dry. The leaves were yellow but perhaps I was a bit hasty in digging them all up.

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