Dug my first Garlic yesterday

[jhp]

Ozark, how many cloves do you think you minced? I like the idea of this method too. Just harvested 70 garlics a few days ago and they're hanging in my garage.

Jen

[Ozark]

Originally Posted by jhp

Ozark, how many cloves do you think you minced? I like the idea of this method too. Just harvested 70 garlics a few days ago and they're hanging in my garage. Jen

I'd say I minced around 80 to 100 cloves. Lots of those weren't cloves at all, they were whole bulbs that only got to nickel-size and never made multiple cloves.

This was my first time growing garlic, from a handful of starts I was given last fall. The starts were volunteers that came up from scapes, and not knowing about garlic I thought I'd lost them all when they died down before winter. They came up well in the spring though, and I got this surprisingly good harvest even though I'd done nothing to prepare the hard clay ground they were planted in.

Now I know more about growing garlic (till the soil, add compost, start by planting good-size cloves, give 'em some fertilizer) and I hope to do even better with it next summer.

We do like this old garlic variety a lot, whatever it is. The flavor is rich but mild and downright wonderful compared to supermarket garlic, and this method of keeping and using it sure is handy.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by Ozark

I'd say I minced around 80 to 100 cloves. Lots of those weren't cloves at all, they were whole bulbs that only got to nickel-size and never made multiple cloves.

This was my first time growing garlic, from a handful of starts I was given last fall. The starts were volunteers that came up from scapes, and not knowing about garlic I thought I'd lost them all when they died down before winter. They came up well in the spring though, and I got this surprisingly good harvest even though I'd done nothing to prepare the hard clay ground they were planted in.

Now I know more about growing garlic (till the soil, add compost, start by planting good-size cloves, give 'em some fertilizer) and I hope to do even better with it next summer.

We do like this old garlic variety a lot, whatever it is. The flavor is rich but mild and downright wonderful compared to supermarket garlic, and this method of keeping and using it sure is handy.

You would be surprised at how much better the supermarket garlic is grown at home.
There-is no comparison.
The amount of sulfur in the soil plays a huge role.

Worth

[Father'sDaughter]

Looks good! Only suggestion I would make is to completely cure the garlic heads and then wait until planting day to crack the heads, plant the largest cloves, and then process the rest.

That way you can keep the heads intact until planting time which helps maintain the cloves and keeps them from deteriorating too quickly.

The same is true for shallots, keep them intact and attached to the root plate until the day you plant them.

[NewWestGardener]

That's an elephant garlic offspring from a super market purchase. This one is fist-sized. Sometimes i forget to dig them up then they just come back next year in clumps. They tend to have babies attached to the mama root, which will be replanted back. I actually like to use tHe green stalks in stir frys when they were thick and tender, like leeks.

[clkeiper]

"That's an elephant garlic offspring from a super market purchase."

never see that here. I got a huge round single clove at a farmers market several years ago and planted it up. I have been regrowing it since then. but like everybody elses regular garlic... various sizes... mine is like that too. a few really nice bulbs and then a few small ones and a few singles, which just might be from those little "nuts" sprouting from the roots. I will regrow those for next year.