Every year I grow masses of garlic. It’s one of the easiest and most satisfying crops to grow, and my entire family adores it. My son has just lifted the autumn-planted crop. This is mostly my favourite variety, ‘Albigensian’, with four or five others thrown in for good measure. I’m thrilled with the results. The bulbs are massive, swollen during the early hot weather we had this year.
This must be the first year that I’ve harvested a crop of garlic with no traces of rust: not a pustule in sight. Rust fungus thrives on moist foliage, so the absence of rust this year can be put down to the dry weather we’ve been having.
The bulbs are bigger and better than ever, and they cropped so early that we didn’t have to buy any to keep us going. Last year’s crop saw us right through until we were able to harvest the first of this year’s bulbs.
At present the crop is suspended through the slats of a very decrepit pub-style table in the garden, drying off nicely. The longest lasting bulbs from last year seemed to be those which I plaited, so I’ll be spending a while plaiting some more garlic ropes.
Soon it’ll be time to harvest the spring-planted variety ‘Solent Wight’, but with its leaves still green (and rust free), I’ll wait until the last possible moment for that. In the meantime I look forward to some seriously tasty meals!
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Doesn’t the smell just make you want to get cooking when you harvest garlic, Pippa? Same with onions and shallots. I have a slatted table so will do the same with mine. Thanks for the tip – I hadn’t thought of that. No sign of rust here either and I believe it can be a scourge in some Bristol allotments.
I’ve already harvested my Solent Wight garlic because unfortunately they didn’t escape rust. However, despite being harvested early(I planted mine in modules in a coldframe in January) the bulbs are huge, much bigger than previous years and are now hanging from the roof of my shed to dry. I usually transplant my winter leeks into the bed vacated by the garlic, but are they likely to get rust too? If so, is there anything organic I can do to prevent this?
For the past two years I have had super garlic. this year – hopeless. Tiny bulbs that don’t look much bigger than the cloves I originally planted. Any ideas anyone?
Similar problem to tinytuba tiny bulbs reddish look like very very very small onions
Some of my garlics have produced extra little bulbs on the stems. I’m going to plant them to see what happens. Any suggestions? I harvested my soft necks a month ago and they’re huge. My hardnecks came up last week, not so big but very respectable. I’m impressed with how well they came through the winter. Despite snow and frozen ground, I didn’t lose one and not a sign of rust. And they taste wonderful!
The link below gives a good explanation of what to do and what you can expect. I scatered the bulbils around the garden last Autumn with the intention of scaring off unwanted pests, but unfortunately this year I’ve pulled or hoed them out thinking they were pieces of weed/grass! Next time I’ll plant them in a designated area!
http://www.garlicfarm.ca/garlic-bulbils.htm
to day i piked all my garlic i got twenty five bunches of garlic thats not bad for the first time i have growen it it took me two years to grow it it needs the frost to grow i think i done well the full amount that i put in was thirty cloves
should I harvest my solent whites before they flower or doesn’t that matter ?
The tops are still green.
Still no real reply as to why my garlic bulbs came uo very small and red please help!
billbo did you let the frost get them i was told if they dont get frosted they stay a clove but if they get frosted in the ground they become a bunch of cloves so plant them at the start of winter and pick them in july you will find that shuld work ok joey
billbo did you let the frost get them i was told if they dont get frosted they stay a clove but if they get frosted in the ground they become a bunch of cloves so plant them at the start of winter and pick them in july you will find that shuld work ok joey i no i have allready menchend this but try it it worked for me
Hi this is the first time i have grown garlic, i cant remember when i planted them this year exactly but the stalks are brown and fallen does this mean they are ready to pull up or should i leave them for a little longer?
i was told if they dont get frosted they stay a clove but if they get frosted in the ground they become a bunch of cloves so plant them at the start of winter and pick them in july >
This is true – garlic will just go to flowers & seed if it’s planted in late spring !
Can anyone help with growing onions please. I buy sets – I grow organically in soil enriched with my own compost. I plant in raised beds which are slightly sloping but not shaded at all with the sun most of the day. I water when needed. However my onions rarely grow much bigger than the sets I buy!!!!!!!! Help!!!!!!!
Forgot to add – I always buy the sets from a well-known organic supplier! I plant approx 3″ deep!
I had similar problem with my garlic as tinytunia. I planted in modules in Nov. and overwintered in mini greenhouse where temp went below freezing. Could the dry conditions this year affect their growth? Is it worth replanting them now?
I planted 5 garlic corms. Four formed The fifth was a group of what appeared to be corms so I have just planted those to see what happens.
After a year in present house, a well-established leylandii – trimmed last autumn and this spring – has dead patches. If these are cut out will the live branches fill the gap?
No rain can reach the trunks and the roots reach the lawn. Would a water supply to the trunks improve the growth?
..and my sister has just told me that she saw little boxes of golf-ball sized one-clove garlic (from China!!!) for sale in a supermarket, I’d love to know if it was a particuar variety!