Garlic Cloves - mouldy

[kitten]

I received my garlic yesterday (and planted it - yippee!), however about 6 or 7 of the cloves (out of approx 18 - 20 that we received) were mouldy so we just chucked them straight out & planted the remainder. Is this par for the course or should i complain to the company i bought them from? I've no idea if this is to be expected or not! (I'm guessing not, but you never know!) Thanks in advance, kitten x

[kitten]

[Larkshall]

I would suggest that you just tell them that 30% of the cloves were mouldy and see what their reaction is. They may send you another pack, if they ignore your note then you will know NOT to deal with them again. They may genuinely not know that has happened and be glad that you told them, so that they can check their stock.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Let them know; they shouldn't be mouldy.

[supersprout]

wasn't from Dobies was it? the same thing happened here >:( and it's on my list to get in touch

[kitten]

Nope, it was from Chase Organics. I've emailed them now so will let you know the outcome. Did you get many good cloves ss - I managed to plant about a dozen.

[supersprout]

yes, out of nine bulbs one entire bulb was mouldy, got 200 cloves in, half are from my own saved garlic. No sign of em popping up yet mind :-\

I know I know Patience is the Gardener's Friend :P

[kitten]

Oh blimey, 200 cloves!  :o  I thought i was doing well with a dozen!  :-\

[supersprout]

we ran out of our own in November, so doubled up this year - two beds'worth :)

[Rosyred]

I few of mine weren't any good too the bulbs felt damp on arrival.

[kitten]

Just to update you all, i've already had a response from Chase Organics, apologising and offering to send me some replacement garlic (a diff variety, but hey ho it makes for an interesting experiment!) when they receive it in a couple of weeks. So all in all, i'm pretty impressed with them!

kitten x

[triffid]

Had the same probs with autumn onion sets from Unwins (three years ago).
Although they were very good at sending out replacements, all suffered exactly the same problem (about 40% were mouldy). In the end I wondered if it was caused or made worse by the padded envelopes that they were posted in.

Whatever the reason, it put me right off buying onion sets and garlic by post. These days, I get them all from nurseries/trading huts etc and even though storage conditions aren't exactly sophisticated, I've never seen more than the odd single mouldy clove/set.

[kitten]

I wondered if it was caused or made worse by the padded envelopes that they were posted in.

Same here triffid, i wondered about that - it did feel a bit 'sweaty' when i took it out of the padded envelope. And they said that they are pre-packed so i assume they don't inspect them prior to posting. It's only our first year tho' so it's all good learning!

[teresa]

I would say email the company and tell them give them a chance to put it right.
I bought some garlic off ebay, and they were beautiful bulbs.
Perhaps others do pack too soon before posting them out?

[Robert_Brenchley]

Could be. Everything I've had from the Garlic Farm has arrived in excellent condition, but they don't seal it in plastic. The better firms often send bulbs in brown paper bags inside cardboard boxes, perhaps to allow them to breathe.