Hi Pat,

Soil is always important, but it is a bit late to feed them now as they will begin bulbing soon. Generally you would want to fertilize them two or three times beginning in mid March and ending in mid May to promote healthy green leaves, then stop in June for the bulb development. If your plants are tall and healthy, best to just leave them alone and let them do their thing. You should also stop watering in mid June. If you planted hard necks, cut the scapes when they begin to curl (they are great stir fried in EV olive oil with a little salt & pepper - YUM!)

Dig them up when most of the leaves are yellow/brown but there are still 3-4 green leaves left, usually around the last week in June to mid July depending on variety. Then gently brush off the dirt and hang them in a shaded, well ventilated area such as in an open shed or under a patio roof and let them cure for 3-4 weeks. Save the largest bulbs for planting next October, breaking them just before planting and planting the largest cloves from the largest bulbs.

Good luck and let us know how them come out!

TomNJ

Thanks Tom! I have another question - a few of my plants have tiny little bulbs growing partway up the stem - bulging out from the stem. Whassat? Is that a problem?

Pat

tom said it all pretty much. from what i have read garlic likes rich well drained soil like onions. sounds like you did it all well, now be patient. if you dig them too soon the bulbs will be small but wait too long and they can burst the wrapper and storage will be shortened. if storage is not your goal then bursting the wrapper is not a big deal.

i have been told or read that the bulb grows in the final 30 days so you will not find much now. that's fast growth based upon my bulb sizes!

little bulbs growing partway up the stem - bulging out from the stem.... this is a softneck not a hardneck variety. all i ever grew was hardnecks and last year i grew about 20 softneck bulbs from the grocery store picking BIG cloves. the plants were small (and the bulbs were small) compared to all the hardneck varieties and they developed that same thing you described. this year i have a few different softnecks and again they have that little bulbs growing partway up the stem - bulging out from the stem thing. i have read that softnecks will change to hardnecks if grown from your seed stock over a number of seasons. i can't say i have done it as i started growing softnecks last year.

tom

Yes indeedy, as Tom noted those little side bulbs are common with softneck varieties. Just ignore them.

TomNJ

Thank you Tom and Tom!

Thank you Tom and Tom!