[kentishlad]

Hi all,

It's the first time I've grown garlic and I planted some Marco November last year. The stalks have all gone yellow/white and fallen over and have done for a few weeks so I've harvested it, is this the right time to do it? I read elsewhere about it not being ready until a bit later but I figured since mine had all fallen flat and gone yellow I should do it sooner rather than later,  the bulbs are ok but not as big as supermarket garlic is this normal for growing in our climate?

Cheers,

Wayne.

[WG.]

There are many many factors affecting overall yield / bulb size.

Soil type
Soil Fertility
variety (haven't grown Marco myself)
Rainfall
plant spacing
Aftercare (weeding, removal of scapes, etc)
Disease
Climate : you don't even say where you are

I'd estimate that I will be starting to lift garlic in first half of July. (in NE Scotland)

[kentishlad]

Im in sunny Kent so I guess we get a slightly longer growing season down here. My father in law is in Bettyhill in Caithness and I know they plant up quite a bit later than us.

We are on a fairly heavy soil but not too bad, moisture retentive but I'm adding muck which will hopefully open it up over the coming years.  The other crops are doing well including onions in the same bed grown from seed which I started in trays in February so fertility is pretty good I think. I've made sure that they have been watered in dry spells too, a mistake I made with my onions last year...

Cheers,

Wayne.

[WG.]

Im in sunny Kent so I guess we get a slightly longer growing season down here. My father in law is in Bettyhill in Caithness and I know they plant up quite a bit later than us.

I had noted the clue in your username but after finding out that our username orkney was based in Southern England, I no longer make assumptions.

Garlic is a native of Siberia and so even Bettyhill can be a bit warm for it  

I wonder whether yours hasn't ripened earlier due to drier conditions?

Garlic is deep rooted when it gets the chance.  Try to aerate the soil as best as you can before planting.  If you can obtain bulbs for planting earlier, then try planting earlier (even September onwards) with an overstory of fenugreek.  This will improve soil structure, suppress weeds & should be killed off by winter frosts - even in Kent.

[wellingtons]

... depends on which type of garlic you have.

I've planted early purple and pulled it a couple of weeks ago and also albigensian which I will probably pull next week.

The bulbs are a decent size, not huge, but have a lovely soft mild flavour and works well if you want a touch of garlic in a salad or a subtle garlic butter.  Lovely  

[Annie]

Some of the purple weight has pushed the top of the bulbs out of the ground and started to split,the cloves look enormous so I will be lifting the affected ones soon.The rest has a bit more growing as the leaves are showing a little yellow and some rust but will probably take another month.

[kentishlad]

Along with Marco, I also planted some supermarket garlic (2 bulbs) to see the difference in size as I had read it is grown in warmer climes and not so suited to our conditions, anyway it is certainly usable  but notably smaller than the Marco.

Well the upshot is I have about 60-70 bulbs to keep me going!

[WG.]

I had read it is grown in warmer climes and not so suited to our conditions

Largest grower I know of in the UK is about 45 minutes away, near Inverness.  He grows 30 to 40 acres of garlic.

I also met a grower from Ontario who grows 10 times that amount in harsher conditions still.

[kentishlad]

I had read it is grown in warmer climes and not so suited to our conditions

Largest grower I know of in the UK is about 45 minutes away, near Inverness.  He grows 30 to 40 acres of garlic.

I also met a grower from Ontario who grows 10 times that amount in harsher conditions still.

Well I guess if you get hold of some of those local bulbs your laughing, three Marco bulbs I bought cost about £3 if my memory serves compared to the supermarket ones at about 20pence each. I thought I heard it comes from the Isle of White or something (well at least some)

What's best to dry it out, I have put them in airy box's at the moment but I saw someone hangs it in the greenhouse, is this a good idea? Obviously very warm but is this best for drying it out or would it be better for somewhere cool like a garage hanging it up?

Wayne.

[Zak the Rabbit]

Ive pulled all mine today, marco and germidour. They had started to wilt down, but the main reason, other than the dog eating them, that i pulled them today was evidence of rot starting after the torrential rain weve had. One end of the patch in particular the outer layers of the bulbs are blackened and many have fungal mycellia on them and in the surrounding soil.  :cry:

The range of sizes is broad, some have hardly grown, others a massive, the size of a medium beetroot! Ive layed them out to dry in the sun (the ones the dog hasnt run off with) and hopefully they will be usable.

any advice about the fungal threads? it doesnt look like they have penetrated the bulbs, just on the surface :?

[WG.]

Does this sound about right Zak?

DISEASES
    Field diseases include smut, downy mildew, pink root, smudge, leaf blight, and several basal rots.  Some of the storage diseases that affect onions are common field rots, botrytis neck rot, and bacterial soft rot.
    Smut attacks immature tissue only.  Infested plants show gray streaks on leaves, sheaths, and bulbs.  Plants become twisted and eventually die.  The fungus over winters in the soil and will infect new plants in cool, damp conditions the next spring.  Seed treatment provides excellent control against smut.
    Downy mildew also attacks immature tissue.  Symptoms are white specks, confined to the oldest leaves of the plant. A grayish white mycellium develops rapidly down the sheath in cool damp weather, causing the plants to fall over and dry out. Young plants should be treated with mancozeb every week until bulbing begins.
    Pink root is a root disease that eventually kills infected roots, with new roots continually being infected.  This results in small bulb sizes.  The fungus is soilborne and persistent and the best method of control is through plant selection.
    Smudge causes black or dark green areas on the bulb or neck of the onion that appear as concentric rings.  Both wind and water, along with tools and clothing spread spores.  The disease over winters in the soil and in sets. Temperatures between 75 and 85° F favor infection.  Affected bulbs may shrink and also may sprout in storage.  Proper selection of cultivars and proper culling of plant material is the best method of control.    
Botrytis leaf blight, also known as blast, first appears as white specks on leaves that expand to cause a die back of the leaf.  Tops can be killed within a week of infection.  Blight often follows previous damage from insects, diseases, or mechanical damage.  Air pollution has also been shown to promote leaf blight.  
Botrytis
    Bulb rots may occur in the field or in storage, and the best method of control is careful grading.

[Zak the Rabbit]

hmmm, not quite. That suggests early occurence before the bulbs develop, and travelling down from the leaves. This fungus seems to have come from the soil and surrounded the bulbs. I will try and get a photo of it on here later (or on my blog).

[WG.]

Yes please post a piccie.  The link above is a general one for alliums.  If you search google for garlic mycellium, you get loads of recipes for mushrooms!  

[WG.]

Here is a better link http://plantclinic.cornell.edu/FactSheets/Diseases%20of%20garlic/GarlicDisorders.htm

[Trillium]

Zak, I wonder if your bacteria got carried in on the manure you used, if any? It can happen and the gardener none the wiser until too late. A lot of fungus is alkaline based so you might want to wipe down the harvested cloves with a cloth rinsed in a vinegar/water solution and let dry before final storage. But check regularly that the fungus isn't developing. When we used to get summers of heavy rain, I planted my garlic in raised hills to avoid waterlogging problems.