True Garlic Seed

clspie · January 3, 2017

When sowing true garlic seed, how deep should they be planted?

Thank You

brownrexx · January 3, 2017

Most people plant garlic cloves, not seeds, but the rule of thumb for planting most seeds is to plant them twice the depth of the thickness of the seed.

In other words if the seed is 1/8" thick, plant it 1/4" deep. Many people plant seeds too deep and although they do germinate, the seedling runs out of stored energy before it reaches the the surface and the sunlight.

joseph · January 3, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by clspie

When sowing true garlic seed, how deep should they be planted?

I aim for about 1/4" That seems to be deep enough to prevent the seedlings from flopping around after germination.

clspie · January 3, 2017

Thank You for the reply, got a few more weeks before
they come out of the refrigerator.

joseph · January 3, 2017

Good luck. I got about 10% germination on seeds that I planted directly without refrigeration. I'm waiting a few more weeks before planting my main set of garlic seeds (with a cold-stratification protocol).

jtjmartin · January 3, 2017

Newbie question: I've never grown garlic from seed. Where do you get garlic seed from?

I just spent 15 minutes on Google. A number of seed sites will list "garlic seed" but they actually sell "seed garlic" bulbs. I've got bulbs - wouldn't mind giving seed a shot.

I have onion seedlings from seed growing now - gives me "a fix" for the lean months of December and January!

Jeff

Jeff

Durgan · January 3, 2017

http://durgan.org/2016/October%20201...20Garlic/HTML/ 16 October 2016 Planting Garlic
Garlic was planted today. Two rows of bulbils (60), two rows of one year rounds (40), one row of typical cloves for comparison (20), and five rows of one year old rounds (100) which is the main crop. The bed was prepared earlier, covered with wood chip mulch. The soil is a good texture with compost and moisture. The cloves were pushed into the soil to make firm contact. The bed was heavily wood chipped and the plants have no difficulty pushing through in the Spring. The bed requires no care except maybe some water if the season is dry. Nothing attack my garlic and it is always excellent quality.

http://durgan.org/2016/August%202016...20Garlic/HTML/ 20 August 2016 Garlic
Three garlic plants were left in the ground to have the seeds, bulbils, fully dried and mature. The main bulb loses the outer sheath and the indivual cloves get much larger than when harvested with the heath intact about the first week of July. I have also found that the bulbs without the sheath keep as long as the sheathed bulbs. I now intend to harvest when the bulbs start to lose their sheath due to having such large cloves.

Kazedwards · January 5, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtjmartin

Newbie question: I've never grown garlic from seed. Where do you get garlic seed from?

I just spent 15 minutes on Google. A number of seed sites will list "garlic seed" but they actually sell "seed garlic" bulbs. I've got bulbs - wouldn't mind giving seed a shot.

I have onion seedlings from seed growing now - gives me "a fix" for the lean months of December and January!

Jeff

Jeff

True seed from garlic is hard to get because it is very hard to produce. Garlic has a hard time making true seed because it has been cloned for so many years through bulbs and bulbils. Also only hardnecks can produce it and it is only some hardnecks at that. So really the only way to get true garlic seed is to trick or force your plants into producing it which can be very tricky.

-Zach

jtjmartin · January 5, 2017

Thanks for the explanation Kazedwards. Learn something new every day here on Tville!

greenthumbomaha · January 5, 2017

I inadvertently may be growing from true seed next season. I didn't cut the scapes off, and in the fall I noticed chive-like shoots growing in patches in the raised garlic bed. If it survives this brutal winter, perhaps I will have extra "one clove" garlic. Do I harvest and save as with regular garlic or leave in place for the summer?

- Lisa

meganp · January 8, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenthumbomaha

I inadvertently may be growing from true seed next season. I didn't cut the scapes off, and in the fall I noticed chive-like shoots growing in patches in the raised garlic bed. If it survives this brutal winter, perhaps I will have extra "one clove" garlic. Do I harvest and save as with regular garlic or leave in place for the summer?

- Lisa

hello Lisa, it is more likely that the shoots have grown from the bulbils in your garlic scapes than from true seed. What variety of garlic did you leave the scapes on?

greenthumbomaha · January 8, 2017

Hi megabp, I had eight varieties of hardneck garlic so I can't identify the particular variety. I don't remember any of them "not" producing scapes. Is it an either or proposition, that is, does some garlic go straight to seed with no bulbils? Is it possible that I missed harvesting a few mature cloves with bulbils and the bulbils went on to produce seeds?

- Lisa

changed the order of my google search words and your blog popped up.. Joseph too ... nice!

Durgan · January 8, 2017

There is no such thing as true garlic seed. The scape seed pods produce sterile clones of the garlic clove planted. I use the seeds, called bulbils, to produce next years' crop after about two seasons. All the seeds germinate.

Almost all garlic is similar, the only variable is the size of the bulb and sometimes the color produced ,which is highly dependent upon the weather, and when it is harvested. I only grow hard neck garlic and use my own always for seed and have been doing so for over ten years.I grow perfect garlic every year around 100 bulbs and get about four bulbs dried to the pound of large cloves. I always plant is October and take no effort to treat the seed bulbs to cold weather conditioning.

Garlic is the easiest plant to grow if done properly in my Zone 5. It takes little room and can even be placed amongst flower beds. I consider garlic a cold weather crop.

I have well documented pictures to support my babble.

svalli · January 29, 2017

Pardon me for sidetracking this thread, but I just can't be not commenting.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Durgan

...Almost all garlic is similar, the only variable is the size of the bulb and sometimes the color produced ,which is highly dependent upon the weather, and when it is harvested...

I have to strongly disagree with this, or did you mean that all the garlic, which you grow are similar?
Different varieties do also taste different. Some are more pungent and others are mild. Some varieties do not keep so well and others can be stored in same environment for long period. My Siberian marbled purple stripe garlic has huge cloves, which start to shrivel in February, while the smaller cloved Spanish Morados have stayed edible over a year. Both of these are hardnecks and vary a lot in size, color, taste, hardiness and storage lenght. The tastes do also change in storage and some varieties should be used soon after curing and others are like wine and develop the best taste during storage.
I am quite new to growing garlic, but trying new varieties has changed my view on this vegetable, which many consider just as a condiment.

I was once asked why do I fuss with so many tomato varieties, because all tomatoes taste the same. After I brought this person a bowl of fresh tomatoes from my garden, she was amazed how different the varieties were.

So saying that all garlic is similar is same as saying that all tomatoes or potatoes are similar. Naturally the basics are the same within the plant species, but varieties do have different needs for growing conditions and time for maturity and also usage of the crop varies between the cultivars. Just like tomatoes some garlic varieties are best for fresh eating and some are better for roasting or preserving.

Sari

NathanP · January 29, 2017

I have now abandoned (aka, eaten) 100% of the varieties I used to grow that produced only bulbils.

In 2016 I purchased and traded for 5 varieties that are known to have produced TGS. Last year I did get a few TGS off one of them, but then proceeded to lose it among the discarded stems. Mainly last year was increasing stock for replanting anyway, and my TGS was only a halfhearted effort. I will be trying it with the vase method use for flower stalks.

I now have
NOVO TROITSK (USDA W6 26171)
CHESKOK RED (aka SHVELISI or USDA W6 35657)
NAVISTAR
CHIMYAN (W6 46684)
PSKEM RIVER - the one least likely to produced TGS.

NAVISTAR was produced from TGS by Ivan Buddenhagen

Joseph has done a very good job of compiling links on the site below.
http://garden.lofthouse.com/true-garlic-seed.phtml

Here are a few more including this one from Israel.
https://www.garlicfarm.ca/article-garlic-seeds.htm

Garlicana has many that Avram offers. I also found a site in Canada that sells several Purple Stripes that produce TGS. Have to go find the link

January 3, 2017	#1
clspie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Erie, PA Posts: 44	True Garlic Seed When sowing true garlic seed, how deep should they be planted? Thank You

January 8, 2017	#12
greenthumbomaha Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Omaha Zone 5 Posts: 2,514	Hi megabp, I had eight varieties of hardneck garlic so I can't identify the particular variety. I don't remember any of them "not" producing scapes. Is it an either or proposition, that is, does some garlic go straight to seed with no bulbils? Is it possible that I missed harvesting a few mature cloves with bulbils and the bulbils went on to produce seeds? - Lisa changed the order of my google search words and your blog popped up.. Joseph too ... nice! Last edited by greenthumbomaha; January 8, 2017 at 11:27 AM.

January 3, 2017	#2
brownrexx Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Southeastern PA Posts: 1,420	Most people plant garlic cloves, not seeds, but the rule of thumb for planting most seeds is to plant them twice the depth of the thickness of the seed. In other words if the seed is 1/8" thick, plant it 1/4" deep. Many people plant seeds too deep and although they do germinate, the seedling runs out of stored energy before it reaches the the surface and the sunlight.

January 3, 2017	#5
joseph Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: Cache Valley, N/E of The Great Salt Lake Posts: 1,244	Good luck. I got about 10% germination on seeds that I planted directly without refrigeration. I'm waiting a few more weeks before planting my main set of garlic seeds (with a cold-stratification protocol).

January 3, 2017	#6
jtjmartin Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2016 Location: Williamsburg VA Zone 7b Posts: 1,110	Newbie question: I've never grown garlic from seed. Where do you get garlic seed from? I just spent 15 minutes on Google. A number of seed sites will list "garlic seed" but they actually sell "seed garlic" bulbs. I've got bulbs - wouldn't mind giving seed a shot. I have onion seedlings from seed growing now - gives me "a fix" for the lean months of December and January! Jeff Jeff

January 3, 2017	#7
Durgan Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Brantford, ON, Canada Posts: 1,341	http://durgan.org/2016/October%20201...20Garlic/HTML/ 16 October 2016 Planting Garlic Garlic was planted today. Two rows of bulbils (60), two rows of one year rounds (40), one row of typical cloves for comparison (20), and five rows of one year old rounds (100) which is the main crop. The bed was prepared earlier, covered with wood chip mulch. The soil is a good texture with compost and moisture. The cloves were pushed into the soil to make firm contact. The bed was heavily wood chipped and the plants have no difficulty pushing through in the Spring. The bed requires no care except maybe some water if the season is dry. Nothing attack my garlic and it is always excellent quality. http://durgan.org/2016/August%202016...20Garlic/HTML/ 20 August 2016 Garlic Three garlic plants were left in the ground to have the seeds, bulbils, fully dried and mature. The main bulb loses the outer sheath and the indivual cloves get much larger than when harvested with the heath intact about the first week of July. I have also found that the bulbs without the sheath keep as long as the sheathed bulbs. I now intend to harvest when the bulbs start to lose their sheath due to having such large cloves.

January 5, 2017	#9
jtjmartin Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2016 Location: Williamsburg VA Zone 7b Posts: 1,110	Thanks for the explanation Kazedwards. Learn something new every day here on Tville!

January 29, 2017	#15
NathanP Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: RI Posts: 183	I have now abandoned (aka, eaten) 100% of the varieties I used to grow that produced only bulbils. In 2016 I purchased and traded for 5 varieties that are known to have produced TGS. Last year I did get a few TGS off one of them, but then proceeded to lose it among the discarded stems. Mainly last year was increasing stock for replanting anyway, and my TGS was only a halfhearted effort. I will be trying it with the vase method use for flower stalks. I now have NOVO TROITSK (USDA W6 26171) CHESKOK RED (aka SHVELISI or USDA W6 35657) NAVISTAR CHIMYAN (W6 46684) PSKEM RIVER - the one least likely to produced TGS. NAVISTAR was produced from TGS by Ivan Buddenhagen Joseph has done a very good job of compiling links on the site below. http://garden.lofthouse.com/true-garlic-seed.phtml Here are a few more including this one from Israel. https://www.garlicfarm.ca/article-garlic-seeds.htm Garlicana has many that Avram offers. I also found a site in Canada that sells several Purple Stripes that produce TGS. Have to go find the link