[adri123]

Hi

Just checked out seed garlic prices on DT Browns.  A fiver for two bulbs!!!  If I went to local Morrisons and bought their best large garlic bulbs would that do the job just as well? 

Five quid for seed is very pricey!!!

Cheers

Adri

[compostqueen]

That's ok if you don't want to know what you're growing. The supermarket stuff will probably be from China

I think for the best, true flavours you need to know what variety you're growing. Not all garlic is the same. Far from it. 

As a grower of veg I like to leave the supermarket out of the equation. That's the whole point to it for me 

[arugula]

As CQ says, the supermarket stuff is likely to come from somewhere other than the UK, therefore it may not grow as well as a seed variety raised to grow in the UK. I'd always buy from a reputable supplier or save my own as long as it's healthy.

Mine has arrived in the post today from reallygarlicky.

[Amilo]

Not wanting to start a war but I to get my garlic seed from the supermarket shelf  I have tried nursery seed but can find no real difference in  the finished product. however I must say that I grow my garlic in the green house.

[PAULW]

I bought two bulbs 11 years ago and never bought another, It may seem a bit pricey to start with but if you save the best and eat the rest the initial investment will last you for years.

[compostqueen]

I love garlic. I mean love it!  I have grown lots of varieties and there is a world of difference between them I think. Stinky Solent Wight for garlic bread, the refined Carcassone and the delicate pinks, the hardnecks, the soft necks, the scapes and the pesto. A world of fun to be had 

To stick to the same old, same old would do my head in.  I can't believe that people are so blase about what they grow 

[BabbyAnn]

I can't believe that people are so blase about what they grow 

to be fair (and I know you didn't mean anything by it so please don't take offence  ), quite a few people turn to growing their own because of rising food costs and limited finances rather than gourmet cuisine.  After being made redundant and taking on a junior position just to have a job than none, growing my own was a priority.  It's only after experimenting with a few varieties do you appreciate that there's more to this growing your own lark than meets the eye 

PS I love garlic too and dedicate a lot of space to grow it.  I just found out about a bit of crushed garlic in the chooks drinking water is good for them too .... so I'd better make room on the plot for some more 

[Trillium]

Seed garlic here costs around 3 euros per pound plus postage if I can't find local stuff which often costs closer to 4 euros a pound. A pound will get you 2-3 heads of garlic.
Personally, I save my best and plant it out (no blight or rot problems here). Over time it helps my garlic adapt to my soil and conditions. We use a fair bit of garlic and I'll be planting about 80 cloves next week.

As for taste, I think so many people are too used to the bland tastes of ready to eat food that the subtleties of garlic varieties is beyond their palates.

[tosca100]

How lucky are we? A kilo of local large bulb garlic here costs less than two quid. So there is enough outer cloves to plant for any garlic lover with the inner cloves for cooking.

[Salmo]

That's ok if you don't want to know what you're growing. The supermarket stuff will probably be from China

I think for the best, true flavours you need to know what variety you're growing. Not all garlic is the same. Far from it. 

As a grower of veg I like to leave the supermarket out of the equation. That's the whole point to it for me 

Most supermarket fruit vegetables these days have the country of origin on the packet, if it is British many tell you the name of the farmer who grew it.

Garlic is a low value crop and for the price of a seed garlic bulb you can buy quite a lot from the supermarket.

Why is seed always sold in pairs?

[Kristen]

If I went to local Morrisons and bought their best large garlic bulbs would that do the job just as well?

I think your biggest risk is that the supermarket variety was grown in a hot country that is a variety that won't grow well here.

A fiver for two bulbs!!! 

They are usually large bulbs. I did some sums in this recent thread:
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=110174.msg1243622#msg1243622
in summary:

2 bulbs for £5.00, average 12-14 cloves per bulb so your fiver will get you a harvest of about 28 bulbs

25p?? a bulb in the shops so your 28 bulbs would be worth £7

But you have a variety(s) that is suitable for UK, and which you choose based on flavour etc.  Thereafter if you keep and re-grow your own its free.

[Mbmyco2]

Ok Anorak on and here we go. I happened to be on the isle of Wight recently and bought a load from the garlic shop and now know what garlic i'm putting in the ground. fingers crossed

[compostqueen]

 Well done  It will mean more to you than just planting any old thing

Check the instructions as some are planted now and others in spring 

[gavinjconway]

Not wanting to start a war but I to get my garlic seed from the supermarket shelf  I have tried nursery seed but can find no real difference in  the finished product. however I must say that I grow my garlic in the green house.

Garlic needs the cold to get the true growth and taste so growing in the greenhouse is not the correct place for it..

I use my own garlic for seed and planted 100 this year... and every now and then I buy a few new bulbs... yesterday bought 5 bulbs music garlic  from http://www.reallygarlicky.co.uk/ £7.75... nothing wrong with that price. I'll get about 20-25 plants from that so loads for eating and adding to my seed stocks. I will then have 5 varieties @ 25 each = 125 plants next year. Mmmmm I can taste them already - and yes we do love our garlic!!

[hightide]

Garlic arrived today from Franchi Seeds of Italy - nine ginormous bulbs each between eight to ten fat outer cloves probably more inside I haven't opened them up yet. It was their collection package for ten quid, I am well pleased.