Elephant Garlic - Page 2

My Foot Smells · November 1, 2016

very informative, never really gave it much thought. it is still hotter than the dickens here with highs in the mid 80's, very unseasonable. still haven't cleaned up the garden in its entirety, as things are still growing. despite lack of watering effort, tomatoes came back (although small and not mid-summer tasty) and peppers plants have grown big as well. so haven't dropped the garlic yet either, waiting on cooler weather, maybe turkey day....

AlittleSalt · November 1, 2016

Thanks for reminding me. I need to see what shape our elephant garlic bulbs are in. We've had the same near record weather here too. I took a soil temperature reading at noon today, and it's still 77F. They're saying a cold front is supposed to move in Wednesday night and it might rain. Best of all, highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s.

Worth1 · November 1, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

Thanks for reminding me. I need to see what shape our elephant garlic bulbs are in. We've had the same near record weather here too. I took a soil temperature reading at noon today, and it's still 77F. They're saying a cold front is supposed to move in Wednesday night and it might rain. Best of all, highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s.

I just went to go sit outside and it is 80 frigging degrees.

Worth

AlittleSalt · November 1, 2016

DFW tied the record high today of 88. We have both ACs on and 3 fans.

I did check the elephant garlic and it's still firm and heavy, so it should be okay for planting.

svalli · November 2, 2016

Please stop complaining about the heat, it makes me envious

It was below 0 Celsius here this morning and a light dusting of some white stuff on the ground.

Hopefully this year we get a layer of snow before the extremely cold weather hits. Last year it got to -20°C for a week without any snow on the ground and it killed the elephant garlic cloves. That is why I will not risk planting them in ground at fall. If I get them growing and multiplying from spring planted cloves, I may then try the fall planting with thick mulching.

Sari

b54red · November 4, 2016

Go ahead and plant the bulbs making sure to give them a bit more room than regular garlic as they can get huge if the soil is rich in organic mater and kept well weeded. They don't compete well with weeds and they even do better when lightly mulched to keep the weeds down. I grew them for about 25 years and planted anywhere from early October into early December and they did great almost every year. I liked them but their flavor is very very mild. We found the best use for them was in a pot roast cooked slow and long. They made the gravy fantastic as well as adding to the flavor of the roast.

Bill

My Foot Smells · November 4, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by b54red

Go ahead and plant the bulbs making sure to give them a bit more room than regular garlic as they can get huge if the soil is rich in organic mater and kept well weeded. They don't compete well with weeds and they even do better when lightly mulched to keep the weeds down. I grew them for about 25 years and planted anywhere from early October into early December and they did great almost every year. I liked them but their flavor is very very mild. We found the best use for them was in a pot roast cooked slow and long. They made the gravy fantastic as well as adding to the flavor of the roast.

Bill

Thanks for the information and will plant this weekend, as things are cooling down a little bit. I have never grown E-G, but have grown lots of reg. garlic before. One reason for planting is the showy nature.

I do have some Bermuda that has popped up and is a real bugger to get rid of. It's strange as surrounding grass/weeds are nut grass and other w/ no Bermuda, but I guess some seed "flew" in and loves the rich dirt.

b54red · November 5, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by My Foot Smells

Thanks for the information and will plant this weekend, as things are cooling down a little bit. I have never grown E-G, but have grown lots of reg. garlic before. One reason for planting is the showy nature.

I do have some Bermuda that has popped up and is a real bugger to get rid of. It's strange as surrounding grass/weeds are nut grass and other w/ no Bermuda, but I guess some seed "flew" in and loves the rich dirt.

Get on top of that Bermuda grass and dig it all out. The roots are usually very deep and it can be a pain to get it all out but it is worth the work. I used some cow manure that was full of Bermuda seeds one time and it took me years to finally get it out of my beds.

Bill

Durgan · November 5, 2016

I planted 20 cloves of supermarket elephant garlic four year ago. It grew very well and the bulbs were baseball size.

I found when using it, that I disliked the flavour. It is nothing like real garlic, and I never grew it again. The size is sure fascinating and a bulb cost just less than five dollars in the supermarket.

Here is a sample of the crop.

AlittleSalt · November 7, 2016

I'm in the middle of planting 28 EG bulbs. While taking them from the plant I noticed these things on the roots. I'm not sure what they are - or if you can plant them? They're the size of a dime. I used a penny in the picture so it would show up better.

bower · November 7, 2016

They look like baby elephants to me.

Mind you I've never grown it, so wait for real advice. I did get 'pearls' growing from the side of leeks but they were close to the original stem. The alliums all seem to have multiple ways of ensuring their survival.

svalli · November 8, 2016

Those are called corms and they can be planted to grow more elephant garlic. If you look at the Spanish video, I have linked on the previous page, it shows that first year the corms grow to huge single clove bulb and second year that becomes a bulb with cloves.
I have not yet grown elephant garlic either, but I have heard that the corms are easily missed when harvesting the crop and the ones remaining in the ground will start growing next spring. I think that elephant garlic getting out of control in my area is not a threat, since the all of the corms may not survive winter in ground.

Sari

AlittleSalt · November 8, 2016

Sari, thank you. You not only answered my question, but you answered another one as well. The area where I planted Elephant garden last year has a few volunteers coming up. They must be the corms that I missed when I pulled the EG earlier this year.

Thank you again.

Tracydr · November 9, 2016

I grew it AZ without any problem. If you happen to let it bloom it's a great attractor for hummingbirds and bees.

NewWestGardener · November 11, 2016

The green leaves and stems can be used in the spring-early summer time for stir-frys as they are thick and tender, before the new bulbs form. They are faster growing and tenderer than regular leeks. So I actually use them more as a green than bulbs.They can be planted very closely.

Mine came from a market purchase as well, and each year I get more and more. I saw lots of bulblets sprouted with roots in my garden now, form leftovers of the summer, they will grow to full adulthood in due time.

November 2, 2016	#20
svalli Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Vaasa, Finland, latitude N 63° Posts: 838	Please stop complaining about the heat, it makes me envious It was below 0 Celsius here this morning and a light dusting of some white stuff on the ground. Hopefully this year we get a layer of snow before the extremely cold weather hits. Last year it got to -20°C for a week without any snow on the ground and it killed the elephant garlic cloves. That is why I will not risk planting them in ground at fall. If I get them growing and multiplying from spring planted cloves, I may then try the fall planting with thick mulching. Sari __________________ "I only want to live in peace, plant potatoes and dream." - Moomin-troll by Tove Jansson

November 8, 2016	#27
svalli Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Vaasa, Finland, latitude N 63° Posts: 838	Those are called corms and they can be planted to grow more elephant garlic. If you look at the Spanish video, I have linked on the previous page, it shows that first year the corms grow to huge single clove bulb and second year that becomes a bulb with cloves. I have not yet grown elephant garlic either, but I have heard that the corms are easily missed when harvesting the crop and the ones remaining in the ground will start growing next spring. I think that elephant garlic getting out of control in my area is not a threat, since the all of the corms may not survive winter in ground. Sari __________________ "I only want to live in peace, plant potatoes and dream." - Moomin-troll by Tove Jansson

November 1, 2016	#16
My Foot Smells Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Pulaski County, Arkansas Posts: 1,239	very informative, never really gave it much thought. it is still hotter than the dickens here with highs in the mid 80's, very unseasonable. still haven't cleaned up the garden in its entirety, as things are still growing. despite lack of watering effort, tomatoes came back (although small and not mid-summer tasty) and peppers plants have grown big as well. so haven't dropped the garlic yet either, waiting on cooler weather, maybe turkey day....

November 1, 2016	#17
AlittleSalt BANNED FOR LIFE Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 13,333	Thanks for reminding me. I need to see what shape our elephant garlic bulbs are in. We've had the same near record weather here too. I took a soil temperature reading at noon today, and it's still 77F. They're saying a cold front is supposed to move in Wednesday night and it might rain. Best of all, highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s.

November 4, 2016	#21
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Go ahead and plant the bulbs making sure to give them a bit more room than regular garlic as they can get huge if the soil is rich in organic mater and kept well weeded. They don't compete well with weeds and they even do better when lightly mulched to keep the weeds down. I grew them for about 25 years and planted anywhere from early October into early December and they did great almost every year. I liked them but their flavor is very very mild. We found the best use for them was in a pot roast cooked slow and long. They made the gravy fantastic as well as adding to the flavor of the roast. Bill

November 5, 2016	#24
Durgan Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Brantford, ON, Canada Posts: 1,341	I planted 20 cloves of supermarket elephant garlic four year ago. It grew very well and the bulbs were baseball size. I found when using it, that I disliked the flavour. It is nothing like real garlic, and I never grew it again. The size is sure fascinating and a bulb cost just less than five dollars in the supermarket. Here is a sample of the crop.

November 7, 2016	#26
bower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 6,794	They look like baby elephants to me. Mind you I've never grown it, so wait for real advice. I did get 'pearls' growing from the side of leeks but they were close to the original stem. The alliums all seem to have multiple ways of ensuring their survival.

November 9, 2016	#29
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	I grew it AZ without any problem. If you happen to let it bloom it's a great attractor for hummingbirds and bees.

November 11, 2016	#30
NewWestGardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada Posts: 564	The green leaves and stems can be used in the spring-early summer time for stir-frys as they are thick and tender, before the new bulbs form. They are faster growing and tenderer than regular leeks. So I actually use them more as a green than bulbs.They can be planted very closely. Mine came from a market purchase as well, and each year I get more and more. I saw lots of bulblets sprouted with roots in my garden now, form leftovers of the summer, they will grow to full adulthood in due time.