garlic problem can anyone explain this?

tjg911 · August 17, 2007

my german white, some bulbs (8 of about 30) felt damp at the neck after drying for 3 weeks when cutting off the stalk and preparing for storage so i put these 6-8 bulbs aside for immediate use.
2 bulbs had soft punky cloves with a white mold or fungus where they attach to the stalk at the base to the top of the bulb. these i threw away without trying to use.

3 or 4 bulbs other bulbs have had cloves when peeled that are dark, they look wet, like they are water logged but not soft or wet. they taste strong and not all that good but no mold or fungus.

why?

are they edible or should i just throw these away?

tom

redbrick · August 17, 2007

Without being able to tell you what the exact fungal disease it is, I can say with some confidence that it most likely is a fungus. The thing to keep in mind is that the mold we see is really only a part of the total fungus, actually the "fruiting body" which produces spores. The rest of the organism is made up of microscopic threadlike structures shot through the clove, digesting it. That's what;s causing the waterlogged looking areas, they're being broken down for food by the fungus.

Did you ever cut mold off of a block of cheese so you could salvage the rest? Notice how it just didn't taste right? That's the fungal threads (or hyphae) still in the remnants of the block. The affected cloves probably won't hurt you, but that's not a sure thing, and since the cloves already don't taste right, I'd recommend getting rid of them.

tjg911 · August 17, 2007

thanks! i hope this is unique to just these bulbs. i have tossed a lot of garlic but it's just been the german white.

tom

henry · August 18, 2007

Hi Tom,

Three weeks of drying should have been more then enough time to dry the garlic. Did you wash the garlic before drying? washing can get water inside the bulb and cause the problems you are having.

Henry

tjg911 · August 19, 2007

no i did not wash it i know that is not correct to do.

i talked to some farmers at the farmers market and the concensus was that i watered too much. but then why just those few bulbs in those several rows of just that 1 variety? it may be that i overlapped at that point. they tell me they do not water their garlic that we get enough rain. this is in nw ct.

tom

August 17, 2007	#1
tjg911 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: zone 5b northwest connecticut Posts: 2,570	garlic problem can anyone explain this? my german white, some bulbs (8 of about 30) felt damp at the neck after drying for 3 weeks when cutting off the stalk and preparing for storage so i put these 6-8 bulbs aside for immediate use. 2 bulbs had soft punky cloves with a white mold or fungus where they attach to the stalk at the base to the top of the bulb. these i threw away without trying to use. 3 or 4 bulbs other bulbs have had cloves when peeled that are dark, they look wet, like they are water logged but not soft or wet. they taste strong and not all that good but no mold or fungus. why? are they edible or should i just throw these away? tom

August 17, 2007	#2
redbrick Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Lebanon PA, zone 6 Posts: 45	Without being able to tell you what the exact fungal disease it is, I can say with some confidence that it most likely is a fungus. The thing to keep in mind is that the mold we see is really only a part of the total fungus, actually the "fruiting body" which produces spores. The rest of the organism is made up of microscopic threadlike structures shot through the clove, digesting it. That's what;s causing the waterlogged looking areas, they're being broken down for food by the fungus. Did you ever cut mold off of a block of cheese so you could salvage the rest? Notice how it just didn't taste right? That's the fungal threads (or hyphae) still in the remnants of the block. The affected cloves probably won't hurt you, but that's not a sure thing, and since the cloves already don't taste right, I'd recommend getting rid of them. __________________ "Any man may count the seeds in an apple, yet who can know the apples in a seed?" --Chinese Proverb (paraphrased)

August 18, 2007	#4
henry Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Midway B.C. Canada Posts: 311	Hi Tom, Three weeks of drying should have been more then enough time to dry the garlic. Did you wash the garlic before drying? washing can get water inside the bulb and cause the problems you are having. Henry __________________ Henry

August 19, 2007	#5
tjg911 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: zone 5b northwest connecticut Posts: 2,570	no i did not wash it i know that is not correct to do. i talked to some farmers at the farmers market and the concensus was that i watered too much. but then why just those few bulbs in those several rows of just that 1 variety? it may be that i overlapped at that point. they tell me they do not water their garlic that we get enough rain. this is in nw ct. tom