How much longer till my garlic grow into a single bulb?
Ariel (Zone: 7b)
3 years ago
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (7)
cindy-6b/7a VA
3 years agoAriel (Zone: 7b)
3 years agoRelated Discussions
How can I get bigger garlic bulbs?
Comments (23)Hi, I have several suggestions.... I am 100% organic. I have made every mistake there is.... 1) Use big cloves. 2) Plant early Oct.( zone 5) 3) Take soil tests, make amendments, use huge amounts of well composted organic matter. Add worm casings to your soil as well as sand...You want a rich well drains very loose soil... 4) Space about 8 inches apart. Plant a little deeper 3 to 4 inches.. 5) Use a slow nitrogen release fertilizer which includes bone meal.... I use Epsoma Plantone as a base and add 30% feather meal for the nitrogen ( feather meal also has a large amount of dried blood in it.) I put about 1 heaping tea spoon in the hole when planting. 6) Add Mycorhizzae fungi to your hole... Ideally mix with soil and fertilizer a little so roots will grow into it...They claim there is a 21% to 50% increase in size with this fungi alone. 7) Water 1 inch of water per week.. Very important.You will not have large garlic if you do not do this. 8) Mulch heavily.... I found the ground leaves work nicley as well as straw but the best is wood chips! Yes Wood chips at about 3+ inches in thickness.. Do not let anyone tell you different.....The disadvantage is that you have to rake them back once you have harvested the garlic if you intend to replant that bed.... 9) Put 3 applications of fish emulstion down begining in March, one in April, and the final in mid May. If you make your own make sure to dilute about 1 cup per 3 gallons of water. If possible use rain water to water with. Remove all scapes as soon as they make their first curly cue. Harvest when you still see two green leaves and the rest is brown and yellow..Do not wait till the plant is totally brown and fallen over. Choose larger varieties . Please email me with your results, I am very interested. johnjohnc@att.net...See Moresingle clove garlic
Comments (62)This is an interesting thread. I am going to guess that there are several "single clove garlics". I think I have one, too, but it is a standard garlic that stays single clove by apparent culture. I planted very small cloves off full bulbs at the beginning of June this past summer. This particular type seems to produce scapes and cloves very easily if fall planted to winter over, but the cloves I planted in June never were cold treated. They were last of the previous years harvest of a feral I collected in Iowa. Original bulbs were tiny with very tiny cloves. Proper spacing and fertilization has increased the size for fall plantings very nicely. Bulbils are about the size of a pea; so they are nice sized, too. Back to the June planting. Every clove sprouted very quickly and grew to about foot to 14" tall. Not one ever sent up a scape, and the plants never went dry. Nor did any of them ever divide. Just this past week I dug a few and found two distinct types, both still very well rooted by the way - I couldn't pull em I had to dig em up. About half looked more like scallions with very little bulbing and these had the thicker stems. The thinner stems had singleton rounds up to close to an inch and a quarter, larger than even the first true bulbs I originally collected. Not one of this planting has divided nor scaped and the plants are still normally green going into winter. I am leaving about half of the original bed in place to see how they handle the Minnesota cold from a summer planting. They took care of themselves just fine in the zone 4 of NW Iowa for almost 30 years; so I am not too worried their hardiness. This seems to be one of several ways to grow solo garlic (I hope). I definitely expect that different kinds of garlic respond to vernalization differently or require different types of vernalization and probably respond differently to day length as well. I am going to try spring planting on some spare tulip bulbs, too, next summer. A little more size going into autumn would be nice for my Appeldoorns, hoping I can add bulb size, if I sacrifice the vernalization needed for the flowers....See MoreHow does a garlic clove become a bulb
Comments (4)It's a really long story but in short, each clove has a bud that forms at least a leaf, some leaves form cloves and some don't and just wrap some cloves I think. Cloves are actually swollen leaves... Here, this may help, from the book Growing Great Garlic: "A common misconception, even among garlic growers, is that a large solid bulb grows and then divides into cloves right befor harvest. Actually, tiny vegetative buds occur on the surface of the true stem [the 'true stem' is entirely below ground and almost flat as a pancake-korney19, from the book] at the base of the inner leaves. Some of the buds are fertile (another strange term, since they never actually get fertilized). Specialized leaves swell into cloves around each fertile bud in mid-spring in order to nourish and protect the bud through its period of rest and during its early growth. Notice that I said 'period of rest.' Most people assume garlic bulbs lie "dormant" until they're planted, but acording to botanists, they only 'rest.'" and... "Well ten thousand years of outrageous misfortune are enough. Despite stems that aren't really stems, flower stalks without noticeable flowers, cloves that are really leaves (or bulbs or fleshy scales--whatever), fertile buds that are never fertilized (so how did they get fertile?), and a plant that never dies no matter how old it gets, it's time for garlic to be shown some respect." Hope this answers your question? I know, it's still quite confusing. Also, if you look at a head/bulb closely, and start breaking it apart, you will also notice that beneath the outer "skin" there are other skins that don't go around the entire bulb--just maybe half or more of the cloves. There's other layers divided by skins, depending on the type of garlic. Below is a little about hardnecks, (Allium sativum, ophioscorodon): "Ophio garlics normally produce a single circle of cloves around the central woody stalk. Close examination of the bulbs will reveal that the circle of cloves is actually divided (nearly in half) by a single skin. Technically, this means the cirle is composed of two 'layers' of cloves opposing each other. The two layers indicates the plant had only two fertile leaves with buds in the leaf axils, each bud forming a clove." Mark...See Morehow to grow garlic in a pot
Comments (18)Garlic will be fine outside in that zone. It's fine outside in my zone too, just not in pots! I'm looking forward to the spring! Good luck zackey and if all can report back. Mine are in raised beds, I'll report back too. Do you know what varieties you are growing? I'm trying a hard neck and a soft neck that is hardy. I have grown others, and will grow different ones each season till i figure out what works best. Only two varieties this year. Killarney Red (Rocambole) Idaho Silver (Silverskin) Rocamboles These are the most widely known, hence the most widely grown of the hardneck garlics. They have a deeper, more full-bodied flavor than softnecks. Rocamboles produce large cloves which are easily peeled, making them preferred by chefs & food processors. Their loose skins however, give rise to their major disadvantage, a shorter storage life than most other varieties. By the end of January most Rocamboles show signs of dehydration or begin to sprout. Killarney Red Outstanding Rocambole from Idaho. Original source is unknown. Best producing Rocambole year after year. Better adapted to wet conditions than most others. Silverskin (Softneck - braidable) Sillverskin garlics are the type most often found on supermarket shelves due to their very long storage life. They are the highest yielding variety and do well in a wide range of climates, hot southern, wet maritime, and cold northern climates as well. Idaho Silver Original source unknown. Bulbs are a beautiful creamy silver color, good size and character. Reddish-pink cloves. Well adapted to northern interior climates with cold winters. Mild and sweet baked. Raw, starts slowly with the heat building to very hot....See MoreLoneJack Zn 6a, KC
3 years agorobert567
3 years agoPatrick Lazzara
3 years agoDonna R
3 years ago
Related Stories
GARDENING GUIDES7 Bulbs That Flourish in Mild Climates
Fall planting: For gardens that don't see harsh winters, different guidelines for choosing and planting spring-blooming bulbs apply
Full StoryHOUSEPLANTS10 Top Plants to Grow Indoors
Brighten a room and clean the air with a houseplant that cascades artfully, stretches toward the ceiling or looks great on a wall
Full StoryEDIBLE GARDENSSummer Crops: How to Grow Tomatoes
Plant tomato seedlings in spring for one of the best tastes of summer, fresh from your backyard
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDES7 Tropical Bulbs for a Summer Garden That Wows
Try these stunners in summer's powerful heat for garden thrills with an exotic flair
Full StoryINSPIRING GARDENSTake a Tour of an Enchanting Bulb Garden in the Netherlands
Keukenhof — featuring acres of tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and more — bursts with ideas and blooms
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDESWhat Kind of Roses Should You Grow?
Want to add the beauty of roses to your garden? Find out which ones, from old-fashioned to modern, are right for you
Full StorySUMMER GARDENINGHow to Grow Basil
Bright color, quick growth and endless uses for cooking make this summer annual a winner in the garden or a pot
Full StoryFARM YOUR YARD6 Things to Know Before You Start Growing Your Own Food
It takes time and practice, but growing edibles in the suburbs or city is possible with smart prep and patience
Full StoryFALL GARDENING7 Delightfully Different Bulbs for Your Spring Garden
Fall planting: Stray from the standards for a more exotic spring garden that draws applause
Full StoryEDIBLE GARDENSThe Enticing Garden: How to Grow Bananas
Sweeten your dining table with surprising flavors of banana cultivars while adding tropical flavor to your garden
Full Story
zeedman Zone 5 Wisconsin