Think my garlic is ready??

[bower]

I usually have cleaned them up after they dried for a week, when I cut off the yellow tops. But in fact I agree, it is a lot harder! and more time consuming to do it.


One thing I also noticed after the bulbs had sat for an hour or two before cleaning, that in the humid conditions of the day, the yellowed lower leaves were quite mushy and wet... I think getting rid of them quickly was the best plan, and by stripping down the last leaf it was easy and quick to pull it down to a clean wrapper.
I didn't find any wireworms this time (although a few bites which look like their work), just a bunch of spiders, one worm, a green and yellow striped caterpillar, and some very tiny thing bit me really hard before I squashed it beyond recognition.
Incidentally, we had 33 mm of rain by last midnight instead of the 8 mm forecast, and the garlic still in the field seems to be loving it. The scapes are lifting their heads and I do believe they will mostly go upright after all. Hopefully the soil will dry a bit before it's time to harvest the purple stripes and Spanish Roja.

[JRinPA]

Originally Posted by meganp

Did you leave any scapes on the plants? You mentioned that you'd planted some bulbils, do you remember how many and size and shape of the bumbles per umbel? Purple Stripe bulbils are small rice grained and numerous often with lots of flowers. MPS bulbils much larger and 50-100 per umbel. Standard PS have more cloves per bulb and MPS fewer cloves that are fatter. Here's a good reference site with photos of whole bulbs and cloves to help decide on varietal group. http://biology.unm.edu/jnekola/Heirloom/garlicA.htm

bumbles per umbel I still love that!
Something made me remember to go get them before they're all gone.
14, 15, 28,25,23,11 from six that were left at the side of the house, from bulbs planted 2 years back but unharvested. Shady spot. Wrappers are mostly gone and some may have already dropped. Doesn't really mean much, but definitely not hundreds. The third pic includes a bulb from the harvest in July, containing 8 cloves plus 1 big clove that felt like 3 and fractured when I tried to split it just now. I think that would have sprouted 3 tops and formed 3 bulbs had I planted it.

Back in July I was thinking they get about 2-3 dozen bulbils in each, but I didn't have any left to check from that harvest. This is how they typically look. Thinking about it, the garlic here has walked and gone to bulbils and true seed since the early 70s until the last few years; the original owners bought the house in late 50s and they brought the garlic. I expect what remains is well adapted for this locale.

The last pic is what that garlic bed looks like now with beans and okra...it just looked so EMPTY after early July harvest something HAD to go in there!

[bower]

JR, I would guess rocambole based on the size and number of bulbils. Not too many, and nice and fat!

[meganp]

Hello JR, would second Bower's opinion that you have a rocambole there. Nice garlic. Springtime here so garlic only just emerging