Last year's garlic...

It was a pretty sad lot, and while we can use some corms, they really are pretty weedy!

Does the team think that we should re-plant some of the bigger pieces of the largest corms, and try again for next year?

I'm thinking of doing these in modules in pots in a frost-free greenhouse, and then transplanting them into their final resting place - with full honours...!

Growster, pm me your address if you want, I could get some homegrown off to you at the weekend ready to plant next week.

I agree with mum that planting puny cloves is more likely to lead to puny bulbs than not.  It runs against the principle that if you want a strong plant you must start with strong planting material.  You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear....

But, in the past I've left puny bulbs in the ground.  The following season they grew bigger.  Some of them split into separate cloves and each clove grew while still attached to the rest.  In those cases each clove didn't go on to make a separate bulb - probably because of the competition from the rest.

As members of the onion family I've come to regard puny garlic bulbs as being like onion sets.  The smallest seem to be the ones which don't split into separate cloves but go on to make a bigger bulb.

So replanting the weakest, whole bulb is an option.  Which contradicts my first statement.  Oh well!  Could be worth an experiment?

Best wishes

I would say try again for next year with the bigger cloves, but also either get some new seed  or take rowan57 offer of seed and plant those also. If you plant them outside, put in planting hole some dryish compost and cover with same compost so that they have a chance to take root and not rot away. Or you could plant them in pots but leave them outside as they need some time in the cold to help the plant split into bulbs.
Then in the spring time when they look like they are growing again, feed them to help them on there way.

A we bit off subject but did you notice that the greenkeepers at Murrayfield, Scottish Rugby's Ground in Edinburgh, are spraying the grass with a garlic solution to try and get rif of nematodes which are eating the grass roots?  If you saw the match on Sunday the players boots just lifted the grass like a carpet.
 Mods sorry if this is too off subject