Using last years garlic for planting this year?

neoguy · July 7, 2007

Unfortunately, I did not eat all of last years harvest. Most of the cloves are starting to get a little soft and showing early signs of sprouting. I've heard that I could refrigerate the heads, to stop them from deteriorating, until I'm ready to plant in the fall. Has anyone tried this

The reason I'm asking, is last years heads and cloves are larger than all I've harvested so far this year.

rxkeith · July 7, 2007

i did it on a very small scale one year. i received 3 varieties of garlic as a surprise extra in tomato seed swap a few years ago. it was december, about a foot of snow on the ground. the ground was frozen solid. i kept the 3 bulbs in their little box in the fridge over winter, and planted in the spring. they were looking a little old and soft, but otherwise ok. bulb size was smaller that first year, but normal size after that. i would check any cloves before planting, for any obvious signs of rot or decay. i'll bet yours will do fine. dry storage will increase their shelf life.

keith in calumet

neoguy · July 8, 2007

Keith,

Thanks for the reply. I'll try it as an experiment this year. I have limited space, enough to plant about 120 heads. I hate the thought of planting a bunch of old cloves and having them go bad.

I put 3 heads in the frig yesterday. In the fall, I'll take the 6 best looking cloves and put them in the ground.

July 7, 2007	#1
neoguy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2007 Location: NE Ohio Posts: 610	Using last years garlic for planting this year? Unfortunately, I did not eat all of last years harvest. Most of the cloves are starting to get a little soft and showing early signs of sprouting. I've heard that I could refrigerate the heads, to stop them from deteriorating, until I'm ready to plant in the fall. Has anyone tried this The reason I'm asking, is last years heads and cloves are larger than all I've harvested so far this year.

July 7, 2007	#2
rxkeith Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Back in da U.P. Posts: 1,848	i did it on a very small scale one year. i received 3 varieties of garlic as a surprise extra in tomato seed swap a few years ago. it was december, about a foot of snow on the ground. the ground was frozen solid. i kept the 3 bulbs in their little box in the fridge over winter, and planted in the spring. they were looking a little old and soft, but otherwise ok. bulb size was smaller that first year, but normal size after that. i would check any cloves before planting, for any obvious signs of rot or decay. i'll bet yours will do fine. dry storage will increase their shelf life. keith in calumet

July 8, 2007	#3
neoguy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2007 Location: NE Ohio Posts: 610	Keith, Thanks for the reply. I'll try it as an experiment this year. I have limited space, enough to plant about 120 heads. I hate the thought of planting a bunch of old cloves and having them go bad. I put 3 heads in the frig yesterday. In the fall, I'll take the 6 best looking cloves and put them in the ground.