Topic: Garlic growing

[laurie]

I have never grown anything before so this is very new to me and I know nothing about it. I have two pieces of garlic with little green things coming out of them and was wondering if I could plant them and grow my own garlic. Is there anything I need to do to them first, like soak them. Told you I knew nothing...... ;D

[manicscousers]

welcome, laurie, try it, you'll get some sort of harvest, even if they don't split, just plonk it in the soil, or a pot, green thing up, water and watch the miracle  :)

[redimp]

If the pot is quite small, about ten days in the fridge might ensure that it does spit.

[allaboutliverpool]

Careful, you might get hooked. Growing veg is like a drug, when you know how easy it is you will be trying all sorts. If you do not have a vegetable patch, plant the odd bare space in the borders, you could try a couple of sprouted potatoes,and if you have any dried beans or peas, put a few in. Cost-virtually nil. Do not try a sprouted onion, unless you are happy with a handsome flower (which will provide seeds for next year).

http://www.allaboutliverpool.com/allaboutallotments_Vegetables_garlic.html

[antipodes]

Garlic is really easy to grow! I think it likes quite a lot of sun and not too much water. If you don't have a proper garden, just a balcony or even a windowsill, try googling "container gardens", there are lots of articles on the Net about growing things in confined spaces, in pots, bins, etc. Lots of veg can be grown like that, peas, beans, lettuce, tomatoes, strawberries, herbs. Garlic is not too decorative though, you'll just get a green shoot that will die off during summer. Once it is dying, give it a push over and after a couple of weeks you can harvest your head of garlic.

[Paulines7]

For newcomers to growing garlic.  You need to split the garlic and plant each individual clove.  Plant it with the pointed end up.

[okra]

the fridge advice is brilliant - tried it for the first time and all the cloves have germinated rapidly

[mikey]

If the pot is quite small, about ten days in the fridge might ensure that it does spit.

RC,

you live and you learn ..... 'Not many people know that'  ;) ;D

Mikey

[newtona2]

A further tip, which I have proven works this year - plait the garlics when you harvest them as it helps them to store better.

I read last year that plaiting the garlics when you've harvested them in the summer, like the plaits you see in the supermarket or greengrocer, somehow makes them store up to three times longer than separate, unplaited garlic bulbs.

I followed the plaiting instructions that came with the original bulbs I bought from The Garlic Farm - but there are plenty of examples of how to do it on the internet - and it worked really well. We still have near perfect Garlic, plaited up and hanging in the garage, whereas last year, and for the two bulbs we didn't plait up, thay had all gone mushy and/or desicated.

Must be something about the way the stems are constrained, stopping the bulb tops getting moisture in.

Tony

[OliveOil]

The only problem I have now is that I have nowhere to store my crops - my cellar is damp so storing the millions of garlic, pots and onions I'm currently growing is going to be a major challenge! - somewhere cool and dry hmmmmmmmmmmm ::)

[Robert_Brenchley]

I don't think it's plaiting the gasrlic so much as trimming the leaves, which affects storage. Apparently if you trim it off, it starts sprouting far earlier than if it's left untrimmed. Plaiting, though, is a convenient way of storing it. Unless it's a hardneck, of course!

[tim]

Bit if truth there.