[Elaine G]

Hi folks

2 garlic questions - sorry if they have been asked before.

My garlic has not done very well this year - very small. It does though have some small bulbs in the stems. I seem to recall you can plant these, but should I pot them in modules or larger pots, do I keep them inside or out, and will these be suitable to plant out next autumn. Sorry no idea of the variety but the were planted out last autumn.

Secondly, what variety should I be looking for to plant this autumn. There is a lot of talk about hard neck and soft neck - I want one to survive a windswept allotment and a decent size of clove!

Thanks

Elaine

[gobs]

All garlic is hardy. You will get less number but larger cloves to a bulb from hard necks.

You can plant the little bulbils up, but they will probably take 2 seasons to come to any size.

[Kate and her Ducks]

OK, I'll embarass myself, what is the difference between hard neck and soft neck and what does that mean for planting etc :oops:

[richyrich7]

One stores better than the other can't remember which way round and one produces a hard pencil thick "neck" the other is papery and soft,  the bit that sticks out of the bulb is the neck.
Google really garlicky co there's a good explanation on there.

[Kate and her Ducks]

Thanks

[compostqueen]

The Solent Wight are quite small garlic but what they lack in size they make up for in the taste dept. Very pungent, so size isn't everything  

[Trillium]

Hardnecks are just that Richy, they have the hard stubble-like stem, best grown in long summers such as the UK and Canada. Soft necks are better for shorter seasons such as hot countries where they're actually planted in the fall and spring.

As for planting, garlic really should get planted in late fall and best if outside. They like the cold and wet, and their roots need space to develop during the winter so they're ready to burst into growth in spring. Pots are really a lot of useless effort. Be sure to bung in lots of compost and/or manure.

A good variety that gives decent cloves is Music, which I believe is available in the UK.

[chicken soup]

Sorry to hijack this thread but do you put the compost down now before you plant the garlic say in Oct\Nov just asking as last year I had to plant garlic in pots then transfer to the allotment in March as we only got it in March so not sure about the compost thing. :oops:

[Trillium]

Yes, compost gets turned into the soil in fall before planting. Same with manure provided it's aged and safe from that pyro-whatever chemical. After planting the garlic clove, you can also top dress around the spot with a bit more compost or manure.  All alliums are heavy feeders.

[chicken soup]

Thanks for that didn't realise they were heavy feeders.  :oops:  My allotment is privately owned but they have various animals eg chickens, turkeys, sheep, pigs etc which they put their waste into big compost heaps together with all the veg waste.  They are primarally a garden centre who have a pets section and allotments.  The owners are constantly telling us we can use the compost so looks like I will be helping myself soon to their compost.

[SalJ1980]

The Solent Wight are quite small garlic but what they lack in size they make up for in the taste dept. Very pungent, so size isn't everything  

That's good to know CQ, as I've ordered some Solent Wight and apparently it's being sent out this week  

[Elaine G]

Well thanks for all your replies, I think I understand now!
So I need hard neck garlic.

The Real Garlicky people do not seem to have any garlic due to crop losses - guess their problems are worse than mine!

Will have a look around for somewhere else, unless anyone has any more recommendations of a good supplier.

Cheers

Elaine

[wighty]

Try The Garlic Farm here on the Island.  I grow Solent White and Purple Wight plus Elephant Garlic.  Dear Mr. Boswell (not) can be a bit pricy though but  if you let me know what he's charging I'll see what I can get it for 'on site' to see if it's cheaper.

[Elaine G]

Sorry about above post - crop failure was in 2005!

Idiot! - it has been a long weekend!

Elaine

[compostqueen]

I got some from the Garlic Farm, eg Purple Heritage Modovan, Chesnok, Lautrec etc and I've left them drying in my shed. The ones I have peeled the outer skin off look fantastic and the first one I've tried has really fat cloves  

I know I can get cheaper ones from Wilko but I do like trying something different