[heygrow]

I was looking at a suppliers catalogue and see you can buy Garlic for spring planting and summer harvesting.
I thought garlic had to be planted in the Autumn or early winter for summer harvesting. Would these produce OK as I wouldn't mind having a go with them?

[Christine]

If you get it in quickly yes you can do spring garlic - just don't leave it much longer or the weather will be too warm.

[JayG]

I've been planting the same ex supermarket garlic (not recommended practice!) for about 5 years now.

As with autumn planted garlic it needs at least a month with soil temperatures below 10C to trigger proper bulb formation - obviously that's no problem planting in autumn, but so far planting round about now has not been a problem here either.

[Fisherman]

Solent Wight is a good garlic to plant now and will crop in July / August. If dried properly it keeps until at least March the following year when the cloves can be re-planted. I like to start them off in pots in January / February and then plant them out when the ground is suitable as my ground tends to be on the wet side. Two garlic bulbs broken up and planted is usually sufficient but of course it depends on how much garlic you like.

[Growster...]

For the first time ever, our Autumn planted garlic seems to have got away, with one type starting way after another, but they're all the same size now.

One book says that they can sometimes benefit from cloches, but that may be too late now, as they're quite high!

I'll also pop some old small corms from last year in pots, just to see what happens...

[snowdrops]

I planted mine out last Sunday,having not going round to buying any in the autumn.never done them in the spring before

[Dave NE]

I have a competition going at my front door (sunny side of the street), on one side I have Sainsburys garlic and the other Spar, the Sainsburys are miles ahead and there are many gaps where the Spar failed to grow but its not over just yet, there is still the weigh in and keeping qualities,  Dave

[heygrow]

So there's nothing special about using garlic bulbs from a specialist supplier, any garlic bulb will grow fine?

[JayG]

Might do well in your location at the time of year you want to plant it - might not.

Might be free from disease - might not

Buying from specialist supplies reduces the risk of disappointment on both counts, which is why planting any old garlic is not recommended practice (even though I got away with it 5 years or so ago!)

[Dave NE]

I have also Wilkos finest growing in the back garden just in case the front door ones are rubbish, Dave

[Yorkie]

Specific spring varieties don't need the prolonged period of frost to clove up.

[Kristen]

I was looking at a suppliers catalogue and see you can buy Garlic for spring planting and summer harvesting.
I thought garlic had to be planted in the Autumn or early winter for summer harvesting. Would these produce OK as I wouldn't mind having a go with them?

Apart from Spring planting varieties, that don't need the cold vernalisation, if you want to plant an Autumn variety in the Spring you can put it in the fridge for a month (the vernalisation needs 5C for a month).  Getting a bit late now, but if Autumn planting doesn't work well for you doing the Fridge thing in February and planting at start of March might work?

[heygrow]

Thanks for all the advice. I have spring planting ones on order (Solent White), so hopefully will be OK.
Do folk see different results/quality from Autumn and Spring sowing types?

[JayG]

Given that there seems to be more than one take on the vernalisation issue, I've been trying to get to the bottom of the subject.

Seems to me that all types of true garlic require vernalisation - whether spring planting varieties are chilled prior to being sold I can't say for sure, although that's certainly what commercial growers do.

Not had a problem for the last 5 years with my spring planted ex supermarket garlic, although it is stored over winter in what probably used to be the coal hole 'cupboard' built into the side of my house, which is probably not much warmer than outside, so possibly performs the necessary chilling even before they've been planted.

They are a hardneck variety by the way, which supposedly don't keep as well as the softnecks, although I've kept mine for almost a year without too much deterioration.

Can't answer your question Heygrow as I've only ever spring planted, but the word 'on the web' seems to suggest that spring planted crops will be smaller than autumn ones, everything else being equal.

[Kristen]

Seems to me that all types of true garlic require vernalisation

I'd always assumed that supermarket varieties (which I, personally, have never planted) might well come from a Mediterranean country, and thus would not be a type to need vernalisation (and might well cop-it in our Winters and/or not manage to mature in our short Summers - hence why I don't buy & plant supermarket garlic, although no doubt they also sell varieties, from time to time, that are raised in / suitable for Northern latitudes

Do my assumptions turn out to be complete-tosh then?