[AlaninCarlisle]

When I planted some onion sets in March I also planted about two dozen garlic cloves, unknown variety as they were ex-Sainsbury bought for the kitchen.

Had a great onion crop but the garlic had disappeared, I assumed killed off by the March snow and frosts. Yesterday when I started to manure and work the patch ready for next spring, lo and behold there was a row of newly sprouting garlic shoots,

What's going on here?

[jonewer]

Happened to me as well when trying to plant supermarket garlic. I think its just not suited to our climate so doesnt make decent bulbs but survives just enough to keep sprouting.

[arugula]

Supermarket garlic, although you won't be sure what the variety is, is most likely to be an autumn planting variety in which case, it won't try to do any growing until it thinks it is autumn.

[JayG]

Until such time as something goes horribly wrong I'm never going to be able to stop "apologising" for planting some supermarket garlic donated by my neighbours who were going away for a long holiday 3 or 4 years ago.

It did great, and still does, usually planted in late February, but of course you have no idea what variety it is, when it should be planted, whether it will do well where you are, or whether it is carrying some infection or not (other than that it's a brilliant idea!)

AlaninCarlisle - you may as well leave it there and see what happens over winter and next year if it's not in the way. 

[sunshineband]

The first year we had the school garden the children brought garlic from home and bunged it in about March. No crop to speak of, but.....

........ the next year, up came lots of shoots and there was an amazing , if somewhat crowded, crop 

So leave 'em in, AlaninCarlisle as the same might be true for you 

[AlaninCarlisle]

Thanks for good advice. I'll just see what happens