wireworms eat garlic

[greenthumbomaha]

My first sthought was ant holes, but I didn't see anything active. And potatoes in my 4 X 4 raised beds near my garlic bed don't have any signs of wireworms. Pehoski Purpe was particularly attacked. I'll lay out the box of culled bulbs I was going to use for culinery and post later for reiews.

I thought about this bed when I should have been sleeping. One of those things that comes to you in a groggy state.
It is clay and it stays moist. Of course the small pepper plant squares where I cut the weed fabric and amended with compost are great, but when I cut a square the border area to do a test dig, it was very moist. I barely have to water it during the summer. So only the middle is going to be planted with garlic. It is square about 8 X 8, and I had a walking path down the center which is not rock hard. I can fit maybe 30 bulbs at most there. I have many more bulbs still needing a winter home.

- Lisa

[bower]

If drainage is an issue, why not make two raised beds for your garlic? Trench the middle and two sides, put the soil on top of the beds and rake it level. Doesn't have to be raised much to improve the drainage. If it's not drainage related, just a good moisture retention in the soil, I would think you could plant at a slightly higher density and they would take it up happily.
Recent reading from a Quebec site:
"Throughout the growing season, garlic will need 1 inch of water per week. Stop watering 2 weeks prior to harvest... We have observed that watering is a more important factor than fertilization as far as yield is concerned. In a well-drained clay soil, water is better conserved and watering is less critical than in sandy soil."

After some helpful discussion about spacing, I just planted a 44 inchX8foot bed with rows spaced at 8 inches (11 rows across) and 7 or 8 cloves per row, alternating 6 inch and 5 inch spacing between cloves. Total for that bed 82 garlic. So your two beds should be room enough to plant around 160 cloves.

There's no reason for row spacing wider than 8 inches unless it's to accomodate farm machines or else a dry field situation where you don't intend to water, wider spacing makes sure they don't compete with each other for water that may be scarce. And 5 inches between bulbs is the minimum for big bulbed varieties like porcelains. 6 inches about standard, even for commercial operations - with row spacing that varies from 9 inches to 20 inches, depending on equipment used in the field.

[greenthumbomaha]

Those wireworms were particularly interested in my only softneck - Inchelium. Ony one or two holes like the ones in your photo, but lots of little pin hole attempts that dirt go thru the wrappers.

-Lisa