"Steve Young" wrote
"Bob Hobden" wrote

"Sheldon" wrote:

Garlic and onion sets shouldn't sprout until early spring... (same as
other allium), you obviously planted way too early... if anything the
early cold/snow may be a gift.

Rubbish! Garlic has to be planted before winter sets in if you want
decent
sized heads. I try to get a good growth before they slow for the winter
cold. Spring planted stuff is almost a waste of time the heads are
usually
so small. It's a tough plant and won't bother about the winter in the UK
at all. There are autumn planted onions (as well as the usual spring
planted) although I've found they are not as tough as garlic.

Nobody is talking about spring planting, we are talking about when it
sprouts.

If garlic has not been mistreated, very little sprouting/(above ground
growth) occurs between Fall planting and ground freeze. Now if it gets
very
cold after planting and then a warm spell occurs before finally freezing,
an
unusually large number may sprout. Here in NE Ohio probably less
than 20% sprout before a winter thaw. What confounds this timetable
is if garlic has been stored in a refrigerator anytime prior to planting.
It
will sprout almost immediately after planting, long before strong roots
are
established. Not a good thing.

To Steve and Sheldon. This is a UK newsgroup and over here we don't get
your sort of winters, this is a maritime climate not a continental type
climate so we get perhaps a frost then some rain them some sun and the
temperature goes up so you work in your shirt. Sometimes in a week sometimes
all that in one day. So any garlic planted in the autumn will sprout in a UK
garden and in most winters will continue to grow through the winter. To get
garlic to sprout in the spring over here you would have to plant in the
spring.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden