garlic, any tips?

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eddie
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Joined: Tue Dec 02, 2008 6:29 pm
Location: The Hague NL Zone 7a

garlic, any tips?

Post by eddie »

As a garlic lover I try to grow my own. Thing is, the bulbs stay rather tiny. The taste is ok, but I would like to have bigger bulbs. Any tips on how to get the bulbs to grow bigger?

Sometimes the plant developes a flower. Should I cut of these flowers as soon as possible or not?
Washingtonia Trachycarpus Cordyline? Bamboos Olive tree? Bananas
otorongo
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Re: garlic, any tips?

Post by otorongo »

I grow garlic for the leaves, not the bulbs.

The leaves contain the same compounds but are slightly milder. The greatest advantage is that they're ready for harvesting much sooner than the bulb and they grow back, so I don't have to kill the whole plant and lose the root system. I can harvest garlic leaves all year round, any time I want, and the labour is next to zero. They're also easier to prepare as no peeling is necessary, just cut them up with scissors.
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eddie
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Location: The Hague NL Zone 7a

Re: garlic, any tips?

Post by eddie »

Never knew one could use the leaves ! I'm surely going to try. Thanks for this tip!

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Washingtonia Trachycarpus Cordyline? Bamboos Olive tree? Bananas
Dim

Re: garlic, any tips?

Post by Dim »

try elephant garlic:

http://www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk/garlic ... d2430.html
Blairs

Re: garlic, any tips?

Post by Blairs »

eddie wrote:As a garlic lover I try to grow my own. Thing is, the bulbs stay rather tiny. The taste is ok, but I would like to have bigger bulbs. Any tips on how to get the bulbs to grow bigger?
When do you plant the clove? I plant them in September and harvest from June onwards depending on size.

Some things that I have noticed:
They need frost to split the cloves.
Remove the flowers to encourage growth in the bulb.
Do not plant them too close together or near other plants as that reduces size.
They like full sun.
Some bonemeal at the roots during planting helps.
Planting deeper seems to make the bulbs larger.
Keep them watered in summer.
Supermarket garlic produces smaller bulbs when grown.
Kristen

Re: garlic, any tips?

Post by Kristen »

Blairs wrote: They need frost to split the cloves.
Although depends on the type of the bulb - Soft or Hard neck. Some need to be planted in early Spring
Remove the flowers to encourage growth in the bulb.
Bulbs that have flowered will not keep well, eat them first :)
Supermarket garlic produces smaller bulbs when grown.
Supermarket garlic might well be a variety suited to a warm Mediterranean climate. Buying "seed garlic" is expensive, but its the best way to get the most suitable varieties for growing in this country and, assuming no disease in your crop, re-planting your own saved-bulbs is fine (and some evidence that they adapt to your conditions over a number of generations), so you only have to buy the expensive seed-Garlic once

Dunno about growing big bulbs though, I'm more keen on "weight of crop" overall, rather than weight of individual bulbs :)
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