[ceri green]

hi everyone
i have just found an old garlic bulb in my fridge........not useable in cooking but when i seperted the cloves some of them have sprouted slightly.
my q is..... if i plant the individual cloves, will they grow? into whole bulbs? if so should i plant them outside? now? or will they grow inside in a pot? and how will i know when they are ready if they do?

i have never grown garlic or any kind of onions before so have no idea what a garlic bulb starts life as      
any advice welcome pleae, thanks

[happy chick]

Hi Ceri,
the bulbs bought from garden suppliers tend to have more resistance to various diseases and I think may be heat treated to ensure that they do the right thing :? ie maximum bulking up to give good yields( I think- the others 'll put me straight on this)?
Anyway, it certainly won't hurt to give it a go and plant the ones you have.  You might be pleasantly surprised and get good results.  it's a chance putting in ones like this but why not? surely this is what gardening is about sometimes.  I think this is one of those circumstances where you don't have to slavishly follow the rules, the worst that can happen is nothing!!! Give it a go, just don't have high expectations

[ceri green]

thanks hc
i didnt notice the other garlic post until after i'd asked my question, and that also answers some of my points
i'll try it anyway, nothing to lose as you said!
will it grow in pots (if it grow at all of course   )? or is it better in oipen ground?
and did i see a post once that said not to put it in manured ground? if so, why not?
cheers  

[happy chick]

Largish pots would be fine ;just remember to water if weather dry particularly if pots are in sheltered spot.  I prefer open ground because then I can just plant and forget (I'm a lazy gardener :roll: )!!  Don't know bout manure someone else will though

[Trillium]

The more food it gets, the larger the bulb. It also needs very regular watering to size up nicely. One drawback with growing in pots is that unless the pot is quite large, the large root system will suffer. They don't like crowding.

[ceri green]

thanks hc & trillium....in the garden then!
does anyone know about the manure thing or did i make it up?

[Trillium]

I actually meant manure when I mentioned feeding. Well rotted and best applied in fall before planting. Some folk like to also top mulch/dress with old manure in the spring for an extra boost. I also throw some bone and blood meal into the planting hole and mix it all in. I find that manure gives a more flavourful bulb than fertilizers ever could.

[SG6]

Ceri, Plant it about now if you haven't already done so.
I added chicken poo to the ground as some form of fertiliser.
The first garlic I tried a couple of years back was from Sainsburys and each that came out was about the size of the original garlic, but I had 8 or 9 of them. Did the same last year. Much crunchier though.
This years garlic have just gone in, but they come from elsewhere and are bigger varieties. Hope they do as well. May still try a supermarket one anyway as they are good backup and inexpensive.

[Weaver]

Would there be much of a problem if some daft first time grower of Garlic peeled the cloves before planting?

 :oops: