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cindy_7

German Porcelain question

cindy-6b/7a VA
15 years ago

My German Porcelain is just starting to put up their scapes but most of the stems have already fallen over.

Is it ready to dig or do I wait to trim the scapes and then give them a few days?

Thanks.

Cindy

Comments (6)

  • bloosquall
    15 years ago

    Cindy, I'm quite baffled by this, A hardneck falling over is odd indeed. My best guess would be to give the scape a week and see if it curls, clip it off then it's about a month before the bulb is ready to harvest. I have seen many softnecks such as Nootka Rose fall over while maturing but not yet a porcelain.

    Travis

  • wcthomas
    15 years ago

    Hi Cindy,

    Are your plants still green or have they turned substantially yellow or brown? Did they fall over on their own or were they knocked down by a storm or animals? And how large are they, height and stem thickness?

    So long as they are green I would let them grow, cut the scapes as normal, and harvest when they go about half brown or are down to 3-4 green leaves. You may want to pull some periodically to monitor bulb development.

    TomNJ

  • bloosquall
    15 years ago

    I was talking to a grower friend in Montana who said he has been getting so much rain his Chesnok is falling over. Are you having the same weather conditions by chance ?

  • cindy-6b/7a VA
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Thank you for the responses.

    Yes, we are having too much rain. It was a record setting amount of rain for May and June seems to be starting of similarly.

    The stems are about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. And yes, they are still green. I've noticed this before with German Porcelain. I'm sure that the rain is contributing. Some of the scapes have yet to show.

    Cindy

  • TJG911
    15 years ago

    wow stalks that thick falling over! so the ground is soft and the weight of the plant is causing it to fall? perhaps some wind is also pushing them in that wet ground.

    i agree as they are green just wait and see. if you dig them now they is no bulb yet. plants are quite resiliant, i have seen 5-6' corn blown down that matured ok.

    tom

  • garlicman2
    15 years ago

    Spanish Roja takes heavy rain without molding and it did better than my other strains did last year(Georgian fire,a porcelain started to get stem rot at harvest)and the Roja didn't and we ended up pulling it all in the rain,mid-July.The only upside is it was easy to pull by hand out of a water logged soil but you must use a water nozzle to spray the muck off and be ready to dry off asap.

    BILL

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