A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 when does garlic split?

hi all, i was just wondering at what stage does garlic split? i planted a clove in a bucket, it has not been frozen or anything. just wondering if i would have to freeze it at some point or if that was realy necesary or what.... its already about 2 inches tall

What do you mean?? When I grow garlic the cloves stay in the ground over winter until around April I think--don't remember. They are ready when the stalks are brown and bend over. You can grow these in containers so long as the soil is deep enough and enough room for growth. I let mine grow until the stalks had the little seeds in the flowers on top. And I collected those too. They can be chopped and used like any other clove of garlic or they can be planted. These will take a couple of years though to grow the fruit you desire!! Hope this helps? You probably could google this too. I know I caught a program by Martha Stewart a couple years ago and she was growing garlic up North and she left hers in the ground until April I think it was too?!!

Bonnie

yep over winter started from a clove and 2 years started from seed. I'm starting mine from seeds and I've already got foliage because it's so very warm this year.

well, i know you are suposed to plant in the fall, i was just wondering if they need cold weather at some point or if the only reason to plant them in the fall was so they would come up at the right time? i tried to google it, but was unable to find info on that.... im not real good at google tho. i supose i will just let it keep growing as long as it will and see what the bulb looks like after

When to sow:
warm temperate areas - generally speaking, it can be planted in autumn through to early winter. Under warm temperate climatic conditions autumn planted garlic will remain dormant for a few weeks, then develop roots and a shoot. With the onset of the cold of winter growth is fairly slow until temperatures warm in spring. The cold of winter is needed to initiate the side buds that will ultimately grow and swell to become cloves (and in some types, to initiate the flower bud). The lengthening days of spring are the signal for the initiated but undeveloped side buds to start forming into cloves. It is possible to sow in early spring and get a reasonably good harvest, but everything is against you - wet, difficult to work soil; no early root growth; less exposure to winter chill. Early spring is possible, but definitely a second choice.

Temperate areas- plant after the first good frosts of autumn. spring planting is possible in the higher latitudes, as the longer day lengths promote bulbing, but the shorter season means the bulbs are often smaller. Autumn garlic will produce roots, but either no, or short, top growth. If the garlic sprouts have emerged, they will survive freezes and snowfalls, but they should be mulched heavily (about 15 cm/6 inches) to prevent heaving. Pull the mulch aside in spring. Autumn planted garlic will have strong roots by winters icy grip, and these roots will help prevent the 'seed' being pushed out of the ground as the soil alternately freezes and thaws ('frost heave').
How to sow:
Choose the biggest and fattest seed cloves, and sow them root end down, standing erect, and far enough in the soil that they are anything from just buried to being 25 mm/an inch or so under the soil surface. Put them about 100 mm/4 inches apart.
Harvesting:
The plants are ready to harvest when the foliage has died off, or mostly died off. If it is very wet near harvest time, consider lifting them a bit earlier and drying them under cover. Left in wet soil, the outer parchment often rots. And if there is disease in the root plate, it may develop too far and cause the bulb to fall apart when it is lifted.

thanx, so i need to let it grow until nearly early spring and set it outside to let it get at about a week of good frost or something like that. sound about right?

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