This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
help with garlic
hamza 15yrs age
Posts: 33
in Fruit & veg
high there iv'e planted garlic and in the winter in December i have forgot to make holes in my big pot and now so much water has gone into the pot and has risen above the soil this has been happening for a few weeks now what should i do and will anything happen to my garlic
0
Posts
hamza I have replied ( with limited knowledge) on the tomato thread that you've also posted on.
I think we need to know how big the pot is and is it still outside? Has the garlic started to grow? Can't remember if you have a green house you can use.
I would try and tip the water out of the pot and think about transplanting them to small pots. I'm unsure if they should be outside just now. I don't grow garlic.
I don't grow garlic either but if they look Ok and haven't gone soft you could replant them in a pot with drainage holes and see what happens. Here we haven't had a severe enough frost to freeze them yet, have you?
I'm sure someone who does grow garlic will turn up soon
In the sticks near Peterborough
Hamza, dig it out and replant it in soil for best results.
If its been water logged for any lengthy period it will rot. You may be too late, but it's a valuable lesson for you if nothing else.
Yes, I would replant them; unless you can drill a few holes near the base of the pot (if it is plastic) they love being outside. As far as I understand, they need the cold to help them split into cloves. If you have to grow them in a pot, not the open ground, then make sure they have good drainage. Good luck with them
Hamza if they have rotted maybe get some more. If you haven't got any small pots maybe make holes in the bottom of plastic egg boxes and put a clove in each, then put them somewhere outside, where they wont get too wet or frost on them, and then when they start to grow plant them in the garden.
If they are okay ( pick one out and have a squeeze) and you don't have anywhere to plant them in the garden, do as Artjak says...you won't need to drill, you can poke holes in a plastic pot with scissors.
Please tell us how you get on.
p.s. Hamza , a resourceful young man of 14 could make himself a little cold frame.
How about a few bricks as a base and some old glass, or perspex, even a some plastic over the top. The type of plastic you get over multi packs of drinks is quite tough.
Best wishes.
I did exactly that last year - what pot manufacturer makes pots with no holes in!
I realised slightly later than you have. I tipped the pot (a rectangular shape about 60cm x 30cm and 25 cm deep) up and drained as much water as I could from it without disturbing the garlic. I then placed the pot at the side of the house under the eaves to minimise any more rain getting in.
I've read a lot about garlic rotting in damp conditions and it all sounds logical but my crop of garlic in 2013 was 100% successful and I'm still getting through the last two remaining bulbs. They are in peak condition and look set to last another month.
My lesson from that was two fold. First, never plant up a pot without checking it has good drainage. Second, only believe gardening articles where the writer has had specific experience. There's a lot of folklore out there backed up by no practical experience. From my experience garlic will stand lots of water - during December to February anyway.
I plant my garlic in the veg bed which is a mix of compost and sharp sand to aid drainage. I can't imagine any bulb which is not suitable for planting at the edge of a pond would like to be sitting neck deep in water for the 2 coldest months of the year.
hi there all ive got allot of advice from you all and and i will next year make sure i will cover them with some thing
THANK YOU! ! ! ! ! ! !
Anyone got any ideas how I can grow larger bulbs? I plant good sized Cloves in October each year but the bulbs are tiny 1.5cms diameter..They die off too fast and get harvested if the plant has died back .. Its only June and they are dying back already, despite watering..Its well drained soil too.