Minnie Did any of your plants come through healthy and untouched? If so you might have a few that have resistance and perhaps rebuild with these plants as well.

Not worth the risk I think at this point. They are not harvested yet and even if some look good I am not going to make that mistake again this year. I only planted what looked and smelled good last year and they actually had it I think. Nothing is really known until they are harvested but with how many just didn't grow I am 95% sure they are infected or carriers.

Suggestion: Check the farmers markets in the area. ASK, ASKI have planted store boughts in the past and have done ok. without paying an arm and a leg for seeds.

Paid about $1.50 to $3.00 per lb.

I don't think I explained well enough. Last year the upper Midwest had a garlic disease, widespread, called Asters Yellows. All the garlic around here was infected. I sell at market and all of us had infected garlic. I went to the state garlic festival and many vendors had almost none that were disease free and who knows what they sold that carried it. I planted what I felt looked good and safe and the disease remains. So no, I cannot buy locally. I want to compare prices. We Grow Garlic is where I have purchased most of my stock several years ago. They sell by bulb and most everyone else by pound. Anyone know how that all works out?

Out of curiosity, what causes the disease. If it's in the soil won't it come back regardless of the source of seed stock?

Did you go to the Garlic Fest in Hutchinson, Mn? Most of what I bought there last year is growing but only a few of mine that were devastated by Aster Yellows from last year are growing this year but I took the risk. Obviously I chose poorly.
You're right that very few vendors were there and had little to offer.

Well my other post was deleted because it's too much advertising i guess.
I have "information" on garlic seed for a reasonable price, email me directly for this info.
-Mark

Here is a link that might be useful: Flying Onion Farm

I got your email and just replied. ;-)

Yes I think many of us here took the risk because seed garlic is so expensive. My plan is to rotate fresh stock as far away as possible from the last 2 years with great soil and fresh straw.
The disease is reportedly from the Leafhopper with help from the mild, dry winter last year. I picked scapes today to bring to market. I have a couple weeks left before I harvest. Except for the empty spots and a little too much yellow on the leaves, they don't look bad. But being that is what I thought last year at this time makes me expect major issues after harvest.

Mark, I don't think my email went through but I will contact you later. I have written down your varieties. The farmer next to me at market is interested too possibly but he says he will just stop growing garlic if this is going to be an enduring problem- not me- I will grow it no matter what! So I have to get an order ironed out soon. Please don't let me miss any window.

Sorry to hear about your yellows dilemma. I hope it turns out better than you expect.

I didn't get your email but don't worry about missing any window from me, I'm only just getting set to dig on monday. It still needs a month to cure.

-Mark

I've gotten several responses from people about my garlic info. If you send me an email via gardenweb and don't include your address, I can't respond to you.

Thanks

I think you have your preferences to not accept emails. I would look at that.

"Out of curiosity, what causes the disease. If it's in the soil won't it come back regardless of the source of seed stock?"

The disease does not persist in the soil. It needs a live host to survive into the next season... so fresh, uninfected stock on clear ground would theoretically produce a normal crop.

However, while the disease may not be in the soil, it could still be infecting nearby plants, where it can then be spread back to new stock by leaf hoppers. The organism (aster yellows phytoplasma) can infect a wide range of plants... any perennial located in or near the garden could potentially be a carrier. A search for the disease will reveal many other plants which can be carriers... including dandelions. :-0

Interesting. I have never seen a leafhopper around, only in photos, but the U of M is certain this was Asters Yellows. Anyway I sure hope between fresh ground and fresh stock and not planting old shallots with them either, I will be clear in 2014! garlic is a big part of my sales.

"Anyway I sure hope between fresh ground and fresh stock and not planting old shallots with them either, I will be clear in 2014!"

You have just hit on my main concern. Besides garlic, I have been maintaining 6 walking onion cultivars & two shallot-like multipliers. They show no sign of infection, but I don't know if they are actually immune, or might be acting as carriers. Up until now, I have always interplanted the perennial onions in my garlic row, to act as natural dividers between different varieties. I will plant the onions in a separate location now, and hope for the best.

This whole ordering garlic thing is pissing me off! Some of the sources are selling out or wanting an order right away and others are not even up for 2013 to check prices or availability! So I am having so much trouble finding the varieties I want. I might just have to get the ones that are reasonably priced from smaller farms and leave the varieties I most want for next year.

Sorry to hear of your problems. I knew such problems would occur this year due to desperate growers planting diseased stock last fall. I know of several other people in the same predicament that you are in. Several folks have had enough and have decided to stop growing garlic for good.

Last year my entire crop was infected and subsequently died. I plowed it all under. I had to scramble to reacquire some disease-free planting stock of a few of my most valued varieties. I went from ten thousand plants of 26 varieties last year to around three hundred of 7 varieties this year (this puts me back to where I was around 8 years ago). Not complaining, I am darned glad I have those 300. This year's crop is doing well, I left on the scapes so I can use the bulbils for use as planting stock this fall. I trust no suppliers. The only way I can be assured that I have safe planting stock is to use my own resources from now on. Hopefully I will have enough to be planting in the five thousand range this fall, but I will need every clove and bulbil that I have to get to this number. Needless to say, I am several years out from a viable, marketable crop. Takes patience and it is a bummer, but I have every intention of beating these garlic disease issues. I don't like being defeated by pests.

BTW, I know the aster yellows issue was bad but a far worse problem is garlic bloat nematode (GBN). Plant GBN infected stock and your soil will be infected and this will ruin all future allium crops unless you stop planting alliums for 7-10 years to break the life cycle of the parasite. Most national garlic suppliers are still not testing for GBN, and I will never even consider purchasing from those companies as a result. It is my educated opinion that the aster yellows outbreak is a cyclical occurrence and will not happen again in my lifetime. That being said, from now on I will always be maintaining an emergency backup bulbil supply every year as an insurance policy. Learned that lesson the hard way.

Good luck.
-Tom

Interesting. I chose to not buy from close states. I did Oregon and Ohio. But I could not get many varieties as they expensive places with lots of variety were all sold out and of course super expensive. I will try to add some next year. This year I ordered 11 pounds to fill 2 beds not 3.