Higgs Boson wrote:
On Jun 4, 12:48 pm, Tony wrote:
Higgs Boson wrote:
I always plant garlic cloves between my roses. They seem to be
effective in keeping off pests.
But when the garlic tops die and I lift the new heads, they are so
tiny! Pathetic.
Any relevant experience out there?
TIA
Garlic is the easiest plant to selectively breed. The rule is simple:
Plant big cloves, they make big bulbs. Plant small cloves, get very
disappointing bulbs. Whether you plant garlic you buy in the
supermarket (which has always worked extremely well for me) or by
certified garlic stock from a seedman, get twice what you think you want
to plant, and plant only the largest cloves.

In most areas of the country, garlic is best planted about a week after
the first frost. It winters over, vernalizing that way, and comes up in
the early spring. Those bulbs will ultimately be larger than ones
planted in the early spring, but in my experience, the difference
(assuming well prepared soil) is not great. Garlic doesn't need a lot
of fertilizer, but it does need light, loose well-drained soil with
plenty of organic matter. Though it will actually grow in shade, the
more sun it gets, the better. My first year, I planted in the spring,
buying the bulbs in late February, and vernalizing them in the coldest
part of the refrigerator for a month. If you want to grow garlic to
keep a long while (up to a year) grow softneck varieties (Silverskin,
Artichoke, California Early and Late). Those are the "supermarket"
garlics. Hard neck garlics are a more gourmet item, with distinctly
different characteristics, but they only keep a few months, generally.
When the foliage is about half died down (mid-late summer), scrape soil
gently away from a plant and look at and feel the top of the garlic
bulb, If it's still one smooth bulb, give it another week or ten days,
and check again. If it has "cloved" (you can feel the many cloves
around the perimeter) it's ready. Dig it up gently, and store them in a
dark, dry place for 3-4 weeks to cure completely. A box frame with a
screen bottom or a mesh onion bag is ideal for this. Then braid or trim
the leaves and cut off the roots. Always save however many bulbs you
need to be next years seed stock, and save the biggest ones (that's the
selective breeding angle).

My first year, I bought my seed stock from the bulk garlic bin for
$1.00. That was the last time I bought garlic. Nature has suppied me
since. Quite a return on an initial investment!

Tony M.

Thanks for that comprehensive reply.
Does this advice hold for So.Calif coasta -- a mild Mediterranean
climate?


I'd be talking through my hat there - I don't know the ideal planting
time for SoCal, but local nurserymen would. If you buy from a seedsman,
ask if it's been vernalized already. I know in Gilroy they grow it year
round.

Tony M.