Bob Hobden wrote:
Steve wrote after Bob Hobden replied:
[...we seem to have the attributions mixed up here...]
Very nice Steve, but what's all this about planting Garlic on the
shortest
day? It should be planted in September or early October.

Thankyou Bob for the advice about when to plant Garlic, is this to
allow it to put on enough growth to withstand the winter better?

It's about the hardiest plant you can grow but the old gardeners
thought it "foreign" and therefore tender so it was planted in the
spring...wrong if you want big heads like in the shops. Where the
shortest day comes from goodness knows.
If you plant in the autumn it will get it's roots down and be into
growth before the worst of the weather, then in any warmer spell
during the winter it will grow some more and be quite large by the
time spring comes when it will romp away giving you much better
heads. It's had a longer growing season.
I've tried using shop bought heads to plant (cheaper) and heads from
seed merchants like Marshall's and now always use the latter, we get
a much better crop.

I used to believe the shortest-day superstition, too. Joy Larkcom's Veg.
for Small Gardens says to put it in as early as possible from early
autumn. Some varieties, she says, need four to six weeks' frosting to
break dormancy. BUT if the soil is badly drained or very heavy, she says
to plant out in early spring -- preferably after growing in modfules in
a cold frame over winter.

I'd always use sets from a seedsman, not supermarket bulbs: the ones you
buy for cooking won't be varieties adapted to British growing
conditions, which is why they'll generally give a poor yield.

--
Mike.