Yep, dem be scapes. Cut them off soon (within a week or so). The garlic will be ready to harvest when about half the leaves have yellowed. What variety are they?

half of the are music the other half are... oh shoot forgot the name. It's another hardneck variety... some Spanish name

Trant, one thing to keep in mind. Scapes are very bad for you. So after cutting you should put them in a plastic bag and send them down to me for proper disposal. ;>)

Seriously, don't neglect to eat those scapes. A culinary treat, for sure.

Lol, GardenLad if you're ever in my area I'd be happy to treat you to some scapes (as long as you show me a good way to prepare them!)

Now that you mentioned it, I looked up some recipes and I think I'm going to try a stir fry. I haven't noticed, is it good for salads too or too strong?

Is the scape removal done as soon as you se those new shoots, or should they be allowed to grow a little before removal? MIne are just starting to show up and have light green buds forming at the tips.

Ken, one year I started removing them as soon as they showed up. They just continued growing. So I went back to my usual practice, which is to break them off when they start to curl. That seems to stop them dead, and they are at their largest-but-still-tender stage at that point.

Trant: Scapes have a more delicate flavor than the actual cloves, so they are fine in salads. Or any other time you want a mild, garlicy addition to a dish.

You can use them anyway regular garlic is used. Plus Garlic Lady has, in the past, posted a bunch of recipes specifically for scapes, and they might still be in the back pages.

Yes, some of mine are curling now, so I guess I should cut or break them off close to the leaves. The leaves are still mostly green now, and I guess there will be a bit more growth?? I do see maybe 2-3 of the lowest leaves that are dieing off though. The ones I dug up a few weeks back are not doing anything after being replanted, so they may not be worth much as far as any garlic cloves. I have been spraying with a foliar spray every week or so since seeing the scapes forming. None are any bigger around than the stalk they come from, but are noticably lighter green in color. all are hard necks, as these do much better in our Z6 area. as you can see, its only been the second time I tried garlic, and last year was a total bust with softnecks not doing anything. Compared to the nearby walking onions I have, they are just now forming the bulbils, and a few have 3 sets strung out like Christmas lights.

Okay, I've read over this and I'm still sitting here like, I feel pretty dumb. firstly, if I decided to play experimento and plant some store-bought garlic would I have to pull the glovs apart and plant each one or plant the entire bulb?

Also, is scape to garlic as, well, the green to the green onion? I know when those you can pop the lil bulbs off the top and plant them for more to harvest.

I'm not quite sure HOW to plant, grow, cut back, and grow bigger garlic bulbs.

Thanks!

ChiGardener,

I wouldn't even experiment with store bought ones, it's really unreliable because sometimes they treat them with chemicals to prevent them from sprouting.

And yes, you have to break apart the bulbs into the individual cloves (process known as 'cracking' the bulb) and plant each clove, pointed side up.

The scape is where seeds will eventually form, so by removing the scape you force the plant to concentrate on bigger bulbs

Just to expand a bit on Trant's response. The green shoots are leaves, and you want to leave them alone, because they're what feed the bulb.

About a month before the bulbs mature the plant sends up the scape. This is a cylindrical stem (as opposed to the flat leaves), which is solid. At the top will form a bulbous mass called a spathe. Inside it will be very small round "cloves" called bulbils.

You won't have any trouble recognizing a scape when you see it. It's just like a flower stem on other plants. Garlic, however, does not actually flower or produce seeds (except in some very specialized instances). It will start by growing straight up, and then curl. In some varieties it actually makes two complete turns. A little bit later it will restraighten again.

The idea is to harvest the scapes, both for eating, and, as Trant points out, to use the growth energy into forming larger bulbs.

If you're interested in growing garlic, let me recommend two things. First, review the back threads on this forum. We've often discussed growing techniques, both basic and advanced. Second, pick up a copy of Ron Engeland's "Growing Great Garlic." It's the bible of the subject.

Ok, now that I have all the scapes pulled off, I have about a hundred of them here filling my kitchen sink. What part is actually edible, all the thick green stalks, or just the part that has the lighter color green in the middle? Mine extend a few more inches to a foot beyond the light green bulge. If all can be used, maybe few quart jars of them pickled?? I only wish I had used a heavy marker when I left the tags out there, now they are all blank. A couple of types did lousy while others have one inch thick stalks right now. One is Musik, and the rest were all hard neck types that are supposed to yield big cloves. Still foliar fertilizing too.

thanks! I went to the Farmer's Market downtown today and one of the growers had garlic scapes for sale! I didn't get any but I bought some lovely tomatoes. I had my heart set on bell peppers but then i realized (after a bit of browsing for them) that they arent in season yet. All the more reason for a return visit!

Definately recommend getting scapes if you can. Not a huge garlic fan, due to the prolonged breath odor, but still enjoy it when I can. In Z5 peppers may not be ready until mid to late July due to the lousy start of summer.

Now that someone mentioned it, I applied my first foliar spray to garlic today (combination of kelp and a 0-5-5 fertilizer called 'omega') and I notice it's not easy! Unlike tomato leaves which get wet and the liquid sticks to, the garlic just beads the water away! Some of the liquid will collect though in little pools where the leaf meets the stem.

Is there anythign special you can add to this spray to make it stick better to leaves?

My garlic has been sprayed several times with foliar sprays, and after a while the leaves do accept a little of the spray. Mine still have a 'dusty whitish' coating on the leaves, but when they get sprayed now, some of them will hold onto the spray a little. Maybe a drop or two of dish soap will help, or a very VERY small amount of spreader sticker liquid. Spreader/stickers are very thick sticky mixes of stuff that make water based products stick to leaves better. Be sure to check the labels though, as some are not advising any additives. Try a drop or two of Dawn liquid dish detergent., which should be a little safer.

I just realized that I'm a dork! I didn't realize what I was supposed to be looking at in trant's image. I decided, after reading over the posts in this subject again to take anoooother look at it. That's when I actually saw the green onion looking scape. DURF! Chalk that one up to duh but a good duh cuz I might have cut the wrong thing.
It was really GardenLad's reply to my question that prompted me to take that last look so THANKS!

ChiGardener

Take heart, Garlic is really easy to grow. Yes, store bought grows fine but the taste doesnt come close to what you will find easilly available for purchase elsewhere. Try farmers markets, garlic festivals and on-line there is literally hundreds of varieties. Do some checking on which grow well in your area (hardnecks) then sit back and enjoy. Even if you do everything wrong you will still have nice looking garlic.

Also check back posts for more information on, planting and harvesting by Garenlad, Paquebot and Garliclady.

Warthog

I wish I had read this post a week ago. I got my garlic from the health food store last fall. I harvested a clove today and it's still a little immature but I missed out on the scapes...waited too long.

There's always next year, Peggy, now that you know what to look for.

But beware, garlic growing can become an obsession. Next thing you know you'll be looking to buy an entire county, so you have room to grow all 540 known varieties.

Oh great, just what I need, another obsession, lol;)

(did you say 540?)

I got em this year! And I'm already scoping out the catalogs for a fall order.

Peggy, if you wait until fall to place an order you'll get what the littlest pig got.

The trick is to order now for fall delivery. That way you are higher on the list, and get better bulbs.

Just thought I'd pass that on.

Thanks for the garlic ordering tip, gardenlad! I'm eager to try out some new hardneck varieties.

Scapes are fabulous for pesto, by the way. Grind them up in the blender with some lightly toasted pine nuts, olive oil, salt, and whatever herbs are good and fresh now: basil, parsley, even tarragon. Stir in a little grated good Parmesan or Romano cheese. Serve over linguine. Just had some for lunch after a morning working in the garden!