T wrote:
On 6/20/19 5:52 PM, songbird wrote:
....
you mention that you are waiting for
all the leaves to die back before lifting
the garlic, but you shouldn't let it go
that long as the tunics (wrappings around
the bulb) may not be in the best condition
if you wait that long. you should instead
lift it when about half the leaves are
going brown and finish curing it above
ground.

my garlic here isn't even close to being
done yet, not much sun and too much rain
i don't think there are scapes yet or they
may just now be starting to form.

in the clay here i have to lift them
or the tunics get discolored.

i have however, many places where garlic
just grows and i don't touch it at all.
so in case my main plantings go bad i have
a backup source to start over again. it's
also what i did up and eat when i want
some green garlic.


songbird


Thank you!

About 1/5 of the leaves have started to die out. I will
check at 1/2!

They already went to scapes, which I am currently munching on.

Is scaping any indicator?

if you have enough bulbs growing you can pull one
when about 1/3 of the leaves are turning and then
see how it looks. i think there is some variability
within garlics that some may finish sooner than
others and such. once you get some experience then
you'll know.

i've made the mistake of letting it go too long
and that affects how well it cures and stores.


How about onions? Wait for the leave to all die or half die?

i try to get onions out of the ground after a
lot of the leaves have fallen over. again it can
be dependent upon what variety. some need a good
cure to store well so i want them out of the
gardens and cured well before it gets too cool or
wet in the fall. most are done when it gets hot
and dry here so that can be ok. other onions do
not store well so you want to eat them before
they'll go bad.

for flowers the next season leave a few of the
smaller onions so they can grow again. then
you'll have all the seeds you want.


songbird