Don't worry about the cold - but the ground you're growing in matters. If it's claggy clay, delay planting until Feb or March. If sandy, autumn or winter should be OK.
It's more reliable to grow cloves intended for British weather, ie, from UK seed catalogs. They're expensive initially but you can always save some of your cloves for planting next year.
Garlic is ready for harvesting once the leaves start to go brown & die back - usually summer.
BTW, garlic cloves need a period of cold before growth to ensure they divide well - I leave mine in the veg drawer of the fridge for a week or two before planting. And I plant them a couple of inches into the ground - if you're planting a lot make a small dibber - it saves wear on your poor finger!
I had a BUMPER crop of really good first class quality garlic last year ! It was all from my crop of 2010, and if it is grown from home produced bulbs, then it seems to be accliatised for your own area. I agree with slugsbgone about when to plant out. In Northumberland, we don't have to worry about whether we'll get a frost.
WE GET FROSTS HERE ALRIGHT !!!! and I'm just waiting for a chance to plant out sometime later this month !
I'm a first time grower. Never done any planting before. On the advice of a friend who has an allotment I planted my garlic bulbs in December and the leaves are already starting to go brown. Is this too erly for them to be ready?
In mild areas it should be fine to plant garlic in December. I don't know where you are growing it. Have a look at our project on the subject. We have had such strange weather recently that some crops may not grow as we would have hoped. My broad beans, sowed before Christmas as an anti-blackfly measure, have flopped in the cold weather. But I'm not giving up because at this time of year it's what's below ground that really matters.
I always start garlic off in late autumn and pick in summer the next year. Stored in my cool shed I have garlic all year from a 1 x 5m bed and I eat garlic every day. Only use the big fat cloves and soak overnight. Then leave folded in a damp tea towel for a couple of days. Plant out in a fine soil just below the surface. 4 inches of snow covering in January when the plants are 8 inches tall does them no harm at all. I always keep the plants well weeded and I trim off the straggling leaves that touch the ground.
Posts
It's more reliable to grow cloves intended for British weather, ie, from UK seed catalogs. They're expensive initially but you can always save some of your cloves for planting next year.
Garlic is ready for harvesting once the leaves start to go brown & die back - usually summer.
BTW, garlic cloves need a period of cold before growth to ensure they divide well - I leave mine in the veg drawer of the fridge for a week or two before planting. And I plant them a couple of inches into the ground - if you're planting a lot make a small dibber - it saves wear on your poor finger!
I had a BUMPER crop of really good first class quality garlic last year ! It was all from my crop of 2010, and if it is grown from home produced bulbs, then it seems to be accliatised for your own area. I agree with slugsbgone about when to plant out. In Northumberland, we don't have to worry about whether we'll get a frost.
WE GET FROSTS HERE ALRIGHT !!!! and I'm just waiting for a chance to plant out sometime later this month !
I'm a first time grower. Never done any planting before. On the advice of a friend who has an allotment I planted my garlic bulbs in December and the leaves are already starting to go brown. Is this too erly for them to be ready?
Hello Mutts,
In mild areas it should be fine to plant garlic in December. I don't know where you are growing it. Have a look at our project on the subject. We have had such strange weather recently that some crops may not grow as we would have hoped. My broad beans, sowed before Christmas as an anti-blackfly measure, have flopped in the cold weather. But I'm not giving up because at this time of year it's what's below ground that really matters.
Emma.
gardenersworld.com team