Warm winter, garlic sprouting

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by taboule

Worth, are you sure these are not leeks?

They are garlic I collected from heads I bought from the grocery store.

Worth

[taboule]

Yes of course, I missed to add a smiley to that last post. Edited to correct that ;-)

[Medbury Gardens]

Originally Posted by Father'sDaughter

I've read it won't make a difference.

I've also read it will make for smaller heads/bulbs next year.

And I've read that if it will only have a negative effect if it grows and freezes back twice during one winter.

Mine grew about 4-6 inches before last week's snow and ice storm killed the top growth. At this point whatever happens, happens.

So what temp did it take to kill the tops?, the coldest temp ive ever had my garlic exposed to -12Cdeg and they were fine.

[Father'sDaughter]

I don't recall at this point, but they usually die after multiple days and nights well below zero.

Right now we're have day-time temps in the mid-to-upper 30's F and night-time lows in the teens, and the tops are just fine. If it were to stay below freezing day and night for days at a time, I'm sure they'd die back again.

[SueCT]

I planted garlic for the first time mainly so I can try garlic scapes. I have heard they are delicious. So I hope the scapes grow back if they got frozen. The garlic I am sure will be fine, its under thick mulch with a good root system and can certainly regrow green tops. Here it has been very cold at night but warm enough during the day that even my small pond fully thaws during the day and doesn't even have any ice on it by the end of the day, ,and it is fully exposed. So hopefully the cold isn't lasting long enough to touch the garlic under all that mulch.

[pmcgrady]

I had quite a few garlic planted this winter..Music,Bogatyr,Purple Italian,Benld and some hardnecks I saved from last year, they all did pretty good. I also planted Early California
and Late California, they didn't do so well...lost half of each crop, but I'm hoping the ones that made it will grow some good garlic next year.

[pmcgrady]

Originally Posted by SueCT

I planted garlic for the first time mainly so I can try garlic scapes. I have heard they are delicious. So I hope the scapes grow back if they got frozen. The garlic I am sure will be fine, its under thick mulch with a good root system and can certainly regrow green tops. Here it has been very cold at night but warm enough during the day that even my small pond fully thaws during the day and doesn't even have any ice on it by the end of the day, ,and it is fully exposed. So hopefully the cold isn't lasting long enough to touch the garlic under all that mulch.

If you planted Hardneck garlic, and it made it thru winter, you will have scapes.

[Father'sDaughter]

Originally Posted by SueCT

I planted garlic for the first time mainly so I can try garlic scapes. I have heard they are delicious. So I hope the scapes grow back if they got frozen. The garlic I am sure will be fine, its under thick mulch with a good root system and can certainly regrow green tops. Here it has been very cold at night but warm enough during the day that even my small pond fully thaws during the day and doesn't even have any ice on it by the end of the day, ,and it is fully exposed. So hopefully the cold isn't lasting long enough to touch the garlic under all that mulch.

Sue, if you planted hardnecks, the scapes won't actually show up until a bit later in the season, so you should be fine.

[SueCT]

I did plant hard necks. So as long as the plant survives, the scapes should be fine. Great!

[Father'sDaughter]

The scapes are the flower stalk and they typically appear in early June in my garden, possibly a bit earlier for you. One day you'll notice that what initially appears to be another leaf emerging is actually a solid, round stem, and that's the scape. Then the watching begins because you want to pick them after they curl, but before they start to straighten out.

[henry]

Photo of a garlic scape. The brown on the end of some of the leaves is from a hard freeze in the spring.