Saving my garlic!

ChristinaJo · March 16, 2017

I received some garlic after October planting time. I planted in late November. The garlic didn't sprout.... I have dug them up. A couple were rotted,but most are decent. So what to do now? I thought to dry them out a few days and check for more rotting. Do I put them in the fridge for vernaliztion and try to sprout them for spring? They probably won't bulb up, but maybe I could replant them at the proper fall time.
These bulbs were originally from France and hard to get to US. Any advice to save them is appreciated!

PhilaGardener · March 16, 2017

Some garlic is treated with chemical inhibitors to prevent sprouting in storage; don't know if that might be the case here.

Hedge your bets and replant half and put the other half in the refrigerator. (Numberwise, not splitting cloves!)

Father'sDaughter · March 16, 2017

As it came from Europe, who knows what it was subjected to during its journey...

Or, could it just be that by the time it was planted, it was too cold for it to start establishing roots? I know up here the goal is to get it in the ground early enough in the fall for it to have some root growth before winter.

The cloves that did not rot may just be waiting for warmer temps to kick into growth mode.

I hope you are successful in saving some of it!

brownrexx · March 16, 2017

I am not a garlic expert by any means but I planted mine in October in PA and they didn't sprout until just 2 weeks ago which was early March. Sometimes I get sprouts in the Fall and sometimes I don't.

March 16, 2017	#1
ChristinaJo Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: NE Texas Posts: 425	Saving my garlic! I received some garlic after October planting time. I planted in late November. The garlic didn't sprout.... I have dug them up. A couple were rotted,but most are decent. So what to do now? I thought to dry them out a few days and check for more rotting. Do I put them in the fridge for vernaliztion and try to sprout them for spring? They probably won't bulb up, but maybe I could replant them at the proper fall time. These bulbs were originally from France and hard to get to US. Any advice to save them is appreciated!

March 16, 2017	#2
PhilaGardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Near Philadelphia, PA Posts: 1,940	Some garlic is treated with chemical inhibitors to prevent sprouting in storage; don't know if that might be the case here. Hedge your bets and replant half and put the other half in the refrigerator. (Numberwise, not splitting cloves!)

March 16, 2017	#3
Father'sDaughter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: MA/NH Border Posts: 4,919	As it came from Europe, who knows what it was subjected to during its journey... Or, could it just be that by the time it was planted, it was too cold for it to start establishing roots? I know up here the goal is to get it in the ground early enough in the fall for it to have some root growth before winter. The cloves that did not rot may just be waiting for warmer temps to kick into growth mode. I hope you are successful in saving some of it!

March 16, 2017	#4
brownrexx Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Southeastern PA Posts: 1,420	I am not a garlic expert by any means but I planted mine in October in PA and they didn't sprout until just 2 weeks ago which was early March. Sometimes I get sprouts in the Fall and sometimes I don't.