"Wally" wrote
I have just bought some garlic to grow on my allotment
and was wondering if I could put it in the ground as it
is or should I get it sprouting first, if this is the case,
how do I encourage it to do so ??

Second question is about peas and beans, when I plant
them (especially the peas) the mice dig up a lot of them
and I have a much reduced harvest.
I have been told by an old gardener that he used to soak
then in paraffin over night.
Is that still good advice or is there another way of protecting
them ??

Garlic should simply be planted in late Sep or Oct so it makes roots and
starts into life before the worst of the weather which it will simply shrug
off, tough as old boots. Don't bother sprouting it before planting, just
break up the head into individual cloves and plant them 9 inches apart, rows
1 ft apart. Rust in the late spring is the only thing to watch out for,
besides white rot.

Paraffin will have some effect on the mice but we haven't found anything
works except planting them in compost in square shaped guttering raised up
well away from mice. Once the plants are well into growth you slide the lot
into a pre-made drill and away they grow. If you have to buy the guttering
it's not cheap but it will last years, decades even, if you are careful.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
W.of London. UK