Saving Garlic to replant

kenny_j · July 21, 2015

Can I leave garlic bulbs in the ground after maturity if I plan on replanting it in October? So busy right now and don't want to spare the time to pull quite a bit of garlic I know is ready. What are the dangers of leaving it in ground too long, if any. And will it still be good for replanting?

Durgan · July 21, 2015

Pull the bulbs when convenient and dry. The bulb will burst and expose the cloves somewhat, but absolutely no harm. In fact, for seed this is desirable since the cloves will be slightly larger. Pulling before the bulb starts to crack tends to make the bulbs have a longer shelf life or so convention suggests, but I don't completely subscribe to this practice. I now pull my garlic after the bulbs start to burst both for seed and storage.

bjbebs · July 21, 2015

I'm in the process of digging a couple thousand bulbs for seed, market and use.
When the plant is mature it's time to get it out of the ground. If left in the ground after the tops die back you run the risk of rot.
A very small percent of the garlic I harvest will separate. Those that do, are sold or saved for seed. It's my opinion that long term storage is better with a tight bulb.
A properly dried and cured variety can store 8-10 months before sprouting.
Were still using our 2014 crop for cooking. Cut in half, remove any green core and use as usual. It's even possible to use the previous years crop for seed. Just doesn't have quite the vigor. This is a good way to to increase your seed stock.

guruofgardens · July 21, 2015

I agree. Dig up the garlic when at least half of the stalk has turned brown. Don't let it turn completely dead/dry. For a class in the Fall, I let 5 'die' and the bulbs are completely separated from the stalk. Good for show, not really for storage.

guruofgardens · July 21, 2015

bjbebs is the person to GO TO if your garlic doesn't turn out like you'd wanted!

Thousands?? Whew!

kenny_j · July 21, 2015

Thanx for the replies. The soil is sandy and drains well. All garlic will be used as seed and planted this fall. I have had garlic rot in heavy soil, but this field is sandy. Time is the problem, so busy trying to do other things, don't want to use it on garlic right now, soo hoping let it sit will do.

guruofgardens · August 10, 2015

Now that the garlic has been dug and dried for a month, I've encountered a problem, sort of.

Because of the constant rain in June and part of July, I had to wait for a time period when there was no rain - just clouds. So we dug up the garlic, a bit earlier than the previous year, but half of the stalks were brown.

The garlic was hung in a warm ventilated garage for a month and then taken down to cut.

About half of the heads had some sort of 'rot' where the stem was still moist and the cloves easy to peel.

I decided to pull many of the heads apart into cloves to either dry or peel for the dehydrator.

Question - will the larger cloves be OK to plant in October?

I've put what I've divided into single layers in cardboard boxes and covered them with newspaper, so as not to dry out too much.

bjbebs · August 10, 2015

When you say the cloves are easier to peel do you mean the protective sheathing is gone or loose. It is best to plant out your largest cloves that have the sheathing intact. If your stock is deteriorating you might consider getting it in the ground by mid Sept.
I've never seen wide scale rot in a hard neck. Is your garlic a hard or soft neck?
I had the same wet June and July, 15-20 inches. If your soil drains well your crop should
not show much rot. Or it could just be the variety, hard to say. i would go ahead and plant. If you don't see life in 3 or 4 weeks, it's probably toast.

guruofgardens · August 10, 2015

This happened to about half of the garlic, not sure why. Estonian Red hard necked. The protective sheathing near the top of the cloves was not totally intact and was flexible, so easy to peel.

Only the largest heads seemed to be affected. Some cloves had the beginning of rot that affected the stem and inner part of the cloves, most not. I'd rather keep the heads intact, but not if they're too wet. Some had a 'smell' that can't really be described. Not pungent, but not usual.

I really can't plant until the rest of the garden is toast, so planting in September is out of the question. About a third of the heads are mostly intact, with one or two cloves removed to see if they were dry enough.

I really didn't want to share the cloves to plant with others if they're not going to be viable. Most cloves are hard/dry and seem to be OK, though a little colored/mottled. Maybe I'll plant a few now and see if they're OK. Thanks for that suggestion.

Father'sDaughter · August 10, 2015

It could just be rot from too much time in wet soil, or sometimes I get that separating at the top of the cloves from bulbs that were left in the ground a bit longer than they should have.

I know there aren't that many pests or diseases that effect garlic, but some that do can be spread by planting infected seed crop. You may want to do some more research to rule out any of the nasties before you share any of your garlic as seed stock with other gardeners, otherwise you risk infecting someone else's garden.

July 21, 2015	#1
kenny_j Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: holly michigan Posts: 380	Saving Garlic to replant Can I leave garlic bulbs in the ground after maturity if I plan on replanting it in October? So busy right now and don't want to spare the time to pull quite a bit of garlic I know is ready. What are the dangers of leaving it in ground too long, if any. And will it still be good for replanting?

July 21, 2015	#2
Durgan Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Brantford, ON, Canada Posts: 1,341	Pull the bulbs when convenient and dry. The bulb will burst and expose the cloves somewhat, but absolutely no harm. In fact, for seed this is desirable since the cloves will be slightly larger. Pulling before the bulb starts to crack tends to make the bulbs have a longer shelf life or so convention suggests, but I don't completely subscribe to this practice. I now pull my garlic after the bulbs start to burst both for seed and storage.

July 21, 2015	#3
bjbebs Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2014 Location: illinois Posts: 281	I'm in the process of digging a couple thousand bulbs for seed, market and use. When the plant is mature it's time to get it out of the ground. If left in the ground after the tops die back you run the risk of rot. A very small percent of the garlic I harvest will separate. Those that do, are sold or saved for seed. It's my opinion that long term storage is better with a tight bulb. A properly dried and cured variety can store 8-10 months before sprouting. Were still using our 2014 crop for cooking. Cut in half, remove any green core and use as usual. It's even possible to use the previous years crop for seed. Just doesn't have quite the vigor. This is a good way to to increase your seed stock.

July 21, 2015	#4
guruofgardens Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2008 Location: zone 5 Colorado Posts: 942	I agree. Dig up the garlic when at least half of the stalk has turned brown. Don't let it turn completely dead/dry. For a class in the Fall, I let 5 'die' and the bulbs are completely separated from the stalk. Good for show, not really for storage.

August 10, 2015	#7
guruofgardens Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2008 Location: zone 5 Colorado Posts: 942	Now that the garlic has been dug and dried for a month, I've encountered a problem, sort of. Because of the constant rain in June and part of July, I had to wait for a time period when there was no rain - just clouds. So we dug up the garlic, a bit earlier than the previous year, but half of the stalks were brown. The garlic was hung in a warm ventilated garage for a month and then taken down to cut. About half of the heads had some sort of 'rot' where the stem was still moist and the cloves easy to peel. I decided to pull many of the heads apart into cloves to either dry or peel for the dehydrator. Question - will the larger cloves be OK to plant in October? I've put what I've divided into single layers in cardboard boxes and covered them with newspaper, so as not to dry out too much.

August 10, 2015	#10
Father'sDaughter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: MA/NH Border Posts: 4,919	It could just be rot from too much time in wet soil, or sometimes I get that separating at the top of the cloves from bulbs that were left in the ground a bit longer than they should have. I know there aren't that many pests or diseases that effect garlic, but some that do can be spread by planting infected seed crop. You may want to do some more research to rule out any of the nasties before you share any of your garlic as seed stock with other gardeners, otherwise you risk infecting someone else's garden.