Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: Can you eat that? on June 28, 2009, 10:17

Title: bulblets on soft neck garlic
Post by: Can you eat that? on June 28, 2009, 10:17
OK so I've got some little bulblets on what I've been told are soft neck garlic.  i've also been told to ignore them .

But can I plant them?

I've heard you can with little bulbs round elephant garlic to grow large single cloves to grow on the following year, can you do the same with ordinary garlic?
Title: Re: bulblets on soft neck garlic
Post by: SG6 on June 28, 2009, 13:31
Think that you can as that is how leeks are (can) be propogated.

As best I know with flowers that produce seed the seed is, or can be, a cross, so there is no guarantee that what developes is a match to the parent. With the bulblets they should be the same so you carry over characteristics that you want.
Title: Re: bulblets on soft neck garlic
Post by: Can you eat that? on June 28, 2009, 13:53
That's much what I thought. Possibly a way of saving some money  rather than buying new  sets for next year, or even the following year.

I didn't know leeks did the same, this is the first year I've tried to grow leeks as well.
Title: Re: bulblets on soft neck garlic
Post by: SG6 on June 28, 2009, 14:22
People that go in for the large leek competitions do it.
Select the bulblets from the biggest you grew - hopefully the bulblets will have the same growth ability. :ohmy: :ohmy:

Raise leeks from them, the method has the advantage that the bulblets are in advance of seed so get off to a better start. ::) ::)

As you have them then you may know: Did you cut/snap the top off the garlic?
I ask as I think that is how they get leeks to form bulblets. Just something I read and wasn't sure of.