I dug up one of my garlic bulbs today (couldn't help myself...too
impatient).

The bulb was, of course, small and not well-formed, but the thing that
struck me was that it appeared wrinkly and not full-fleshed. It was
kind of soft.

Does this have anything to do with my watering habits? I only water
the garlic infrequently since I'm wary of making the ground so soggy
that it would tend toward rotting the bulbs.

Mark

(Mark) wrote:

The bulb was, of course, small and not well-formed, but the thing that
struck me was that it appeared wrinkly and not full-fleshed.

Where are you?
When was it planted?

Most likely, the garlic hasn't even begun to think about forming a bulb.
It is a two-stage process, first growing foliage to manufacture food, then
bulbing up. You're probably just seeing the remnants of the clove that was
planted, which is getting consumed in the process.

Of course, mine is just coming up, with a couple of the known late starters
not out of the ground yet.

77 yesterday on my Upstate NY hilltop yesterday, lower 70s today, cooler
after. I can take it. Spring is irrevocably here!


Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at www.albany.net/~gwoods
Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1200' elevation. NY WO G

(Mark) wrote in message . com...
I dug up one of my garlic bulbs today (couldn't help myself...too
impatient).

The bulb was, of course, small and not well-formed, but the thing that
struck me was that it appeared wrinkly and not full-fleshed. It was
kind of soft.

Does this have anything to do with my watering habits? I only water
the garlic infrequently since I'm wary of making the ground so soggy
that it would tend toward rotting the bulbs.

Mark

Leave that garlic alone until July at least.

Leave that garlic alone until July at least.

Good advice if you want the largest bulbs - but - you haven't lived until
you have had green garlic. I will pick one plant out in mid June.
By that time, the bulb is just starting to form but you use the stems. Mine
are planted 4" deep and mulched with 3-4" rough compost so there is about 4"
of white stem that is quite firm as well as 4-6" green stem. Chop it all up
fine and use it as you would any garlic. The first one is usually mixed with
butter, spread liberally over French (OOPS I meant Freedom bread) and
broiled to golden brown. Oh gee, I just drooled on my keyboard.

(simy1) wrote in message . com...
(Mark) wrote in message . com...
I dug up one of my garlic bulbs today (couldn't help myself...too
impatient).

The bulb was, of course, small and not well-formed, but the thing that
struck me was that it appeared wrinkly and not full-fleshed. It was
kind of soft.

Does this have anything to do with my watering habits? I only water
the garlic infrequently since I'm wary of making the ground so soggy
that it would tend toward rotting the bulbs.

Mark

Leave that garlic alone until July at least.


But it's just so tempting to pull one now and again to see how things
are going! Of course, I did that last year with the carrots and
finally wound up with about 5 of them reaching maturity...

I'm in zone 6, the temps are averaging in the 70's during the day,
50's at night. Not that much rain lately, but we got a nice slow
soaker last night.

Regarding the harvest: I'm growing elephant garlic and Polish
hardneck. When will I know it's time to pull them up? I plan to cut
off any heads before they try to flower. Is there a set length of
time after that I should wait before harvest? I have read conflicting
advice about waiting until the stalks/foliage starts to turn brown or
fall over...any advice?

Mark

(Mark) wrote:

I'm growing elephant garlic and Polish
hardneck. When will I know it's time to pull them up?

Wait until about half the leaves have turned brown; NOT all. If you wait
too long, the bulb will start to open up and the wrapper leaves will be
gone, which is bad for storage. Eat those first.
Basics on my personal page, in the .sig below.


Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at www.albany.net/~gwoods
Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1200' elevation. NY WO G