songbird said:


Pat Kiewicz wrote:
...
When I harvest the garlic I was happy that the wrappers looked
good and they all cleaned up nice and looked reasonable sized.
What I didn't notice at that point was that the soft-necked garlic
all looked a bit *oblong.* I found out when I went to plant them
that the reason they looked that way is because they were
comprised of two ENORMOUS cloves at either end with a few
flattened but more normal sized cloved in the middle.

I wonder if this is a one time thing (weather related) and what
will happen next year.

i've not planted any softneck garlic here so i can't
say from my own experience, but given how mild
things were last winter with the lack of snow and the
lack of rain i'd say it was likely moisture and/or
weather related. it is very unlikely you've selected
for oblong softneck garlic by picking your best to
plant from. unless perhaps you only planted a few
cloves?

No, last year they were round. I plant a 4x8 foot bed with garlic,
half hard neck and half soft neck. The cloves I plant usually come
from at least 5 different heads.

We shall see if there are any strange results from these monster cloves.

(Here's hoping for a cold, wet winter and a less extreme summer
next year. Though it seems that the 'new normal' is likely to be
extreme weather, more heat waves and drought.)


--
Pat in Plymouth MI

"Yes, swooping is bad."

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