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Garlic/onion frost damage
"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. Steve Young Yup, obviously some of these folks don't read very well, the OP didn't really mention a time frame, or even a locale, but from context it seemed pretty obvious to those with intelligence that he meant planting very recently, like now, as in this fall. I don't grow garlic anymore (used to), haven't for like five years now because my next door neighbor grows garlic and onions in great quantity, like 500 pounds of each, he supplies the entire neighborhood and attends the local garlic festivals. I used to grow garlic in sets of 100, not a lot but was more than enough for me and to share. I only take like 6-10 heads from my neighbor because I don't use it up fast enough and it's a shame to let it rot, but I take 20 pounds of red and yellow onions and 20 pounds of his spuds, russets and Yukon golds. Anyway, my neighbor is a real garlic maven, he has quite an operation, grown in very neat raised beds filled with soil he is constantly amending with all sorts of composted manures, leaves, and a huge variety of plant waste. I've learned a lot more about garlic growing from him than I already knew. One thing he is very careful about is watching the weather (I assume all agri people do) so he'll know the most advantageous time to plant. He waits until we've had a few light frosts and then plants as close as he can to four weeks prior to the first hard frost. He mulches heavily with straw (about 8") that's held down from wind with plastic deer fencing, which also keeps birds off. He already has his garlic planted, this is the sixth season since I've lived here and I've never seen any of his garlic sprout before spring... you can set your clock on its sprouting because it sends up green on the same day as daffodils. I don't know about growing garlic in warm climes but here in NY's northern Catskill region (zone 5/6) if garlic is planted too early prior to the first hard frost it will sprout, and if sunlight can get to the sprouts it will grow very rapidly, especially if there're a few day's warm spell. I have a clear view of his garlic bed from my window as I sit he http://i36.tinypic.com/14lmx7b.jpg A little far, let's try with tele: http://i36.tinypic.com/wit2s8.jpg |
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