[Eblana]

When I was down the plot at the weekend I noticed that my bed with the over wintering onions and garlic has formed a compacted skin on the top from all the rain falling on it.  Should I leave this be or should I gentley break it up?  Is there anything I can do to stop this happening again?  Should I mulch them?

[crh75]

When it gets a bit drier, give it a hoe. 

[richy]

I noticed this today aswell, when its drier i will just give it a light fork and top off with some compost.

[stompy]

Have they got shoots through yet?

[mumofstig]

out of 18 planted I have 4 shoots 

[stompy]

The reason i asked is because if they're not through yet they will probably be about to come through and hoeing or forking could damage the shoots!
If anything i would just try and keep the soil damp!

[mike0001]

no sign of any onions on my plot planted end of oct...

 i also have that skin like cover over where i planted the onions,

 but no where else on the plot just fresh untouched dug over mud

[Eblana]

My onions are all through - the shoulders were above the soil anyway so they are ok, I will just gently hoe or fork between them when it dries up a bit.  Only a couple of my Garlic are through and I was worried that maybe they won't be able to get through .  I have backups in modules just in case.

[Tom Hill]

I managed to get an hour or two on my allotment yesterday. It has rained for a fortnight and is at it again this morning.
I planted garlic on the 6th December. Solent Wight & an unknown variety from the kitchen (supermarket bought).  The unknown variety is 3-4 inches high  and looking healthy. The expensive Solent Wight from Kings Seeds has yet to appear.

[Jamrock]

I managed to get an hour or two on my allotment yesterday. It has rained for a fortnight and is at it again this morning.
I planted garlic on the 6th December. Solent Wight & an unknown variety from the kitchen (supermarket bought).  The unknown variety is 3-4 inches high  and looking healthy. The expensive Solent Wight from Kings Seeds has yet to appear.

It will be worth the wait. And is much less likely to succumb to disease

[Hobnails]

With all the rain we've had I was getting worried about the non-appearance of the garlic and was getting used to the idea that they had rotted- especially as the Stuttgarter overwintering onions were all up.
But, last week the garlic appeared and are all  throwing up strong shoots. I had planted more in pots to refill the expected gaps but shouldn't need them now. I'm glad I made a raised bed out of the plot before I put them in last October and being 9 inches or so above the surrounding soil might well have saved them.

[Trillium]

Garlic is very tough and will pop through crusted soil, so if you can't get onto the plot, don't worry. Onions, however, might appreciate a bit of loosening of soil but be careful not to pull them out. No point snapping any tiny roots.

[wighty]

Had a chance earlier today to look at where I had garlic last year and noticed a few 'volunteer' garlic that I must have missed. They are now about six inches tall but of course have multiple leaves which indicates to me that each clove has now shooted.  Do I leave them or dig them and seperate?  Do I do it now or a bit later when this cold spell has finished?

[gavinjconway]

I'd dig them up, plant into pots to get going in the greenhouse or cold frame - not inside the house!!

Then when the cold weather goes away plant them out..

[Trillium]

I usually discover missed cloves at planting time and simply fork them out carefully, separate them, and replant them careful to lay the long roots in a small trench. After that they keep growing and by harvest time it's impossible to remember which were transplanted. They're all huge!

At this time the garlic is mostly doing roots so it can be moved whenever it suits you.